


Heart and Soul

by Asheraou



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Amnesiac Vanitas, Bodyswap, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Disney Movies, Disney Multiverse, Disney References, Gen, Temporary Character Death
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-09
Updated: 2018-06-14
Packaged: 2018-08-29 23:39:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 52,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8510161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Asheraou/pseuds/Asheraou
Summary: Sora did more than give Vanitas a normal boy's face. After the final battle with Ventus, he gave Vanitas some of his light in order to survive. But, he was reduced to the age of six with no memories of his life or name to grow up in another world.
Ten years later, Arun doesn't believe in other worlds quite like his two friends, Arty and Caelum. He thinks they should keep their heads out of the clouds and should keep them in Meryton. One night on Arty's birthday, he is proved wrong when black ant-like creatures invade his home, taking the hearts of everyone he knew and including his own. He falls into the darkness after he protects Arty from being attacked by a black ant. Then, he is approached by a strange light telling him he may borrow something he needs. 
When he wakes up he finds himself in a white room inside a castle and that's where all his troubles begin. Now, he must travel across several worlds to save them from the darkness. The one problem? He's not in his own body!





	1. Beginning of the End

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer for all chapters: I own none of the characters save for two OCs.

Chapter 1

Arun knew he was an idiot when he jumped in front of that weird black ant. He saw how people seemed to disappear when the ants attacked them, how these weird purple-red hearts replaced them to turn into more of those black ants. What else was he supposed to do when one of the ants tried to attack Arty while she was down?

He should have known better after that dream that this might be the day he was going to die.

He placed himself in front of Arty as she screamed his name. The strange creature slashed its claws across his chest. As this happened, like his life flashing before his eyes, that morning came to mind.

xxx

_Complete darkness surrounded him. It was almost nerve-wracking to be in_ _the dark where he could not see nor smell anything. It was as if he did not exist-like nothing existed at all._

_It was funny, really, how he was left in the infinite blackness. More than anything, the darkness was both his friend and enemy. He felt secure in the sweet bliss of oblivion where he was given the chance to rest from life. But it was also frightening to be held by numbing nothingness. He could forget everyone he ever loved and even who he was if he was to drift forever in the dark sea. Was that what he really wanted? Did he want to forget everything just to have his moment of rest?_

_Whether he could answer or not, it did not matter._

_Below him, white light flashed before him. He realized he was drifting down as he opened his eyes. Below was a strange platform with a glass-like surface depicting a mural of him and another. It had a background of bright colors on the other's side of the mural while on his a mesh of black and red. What he found strange was the other was the exact opposite of him in every way from the windswept blond hair to his armor-like clothes. They were opposites...Yin and Yang..._

_He floated onto the platform, his feet planting themselves firmly on the glass. Blinking wearily, he did not move in fear of breaking something so beautiful and delicate. This place...It seemed so familiar. It was as if he had been there before. The question was how._

_Apparitions appeared before him. The two boys from the mural appeared, fighting with their strange key weapons in their hands. He was fighting against the other boy mercilessly while the other attempted to defeat him to the best of his ability. It all seemed familiar, but for the life of him he could not remember._

You should remember.

_The apparitions disappeared. He glanced over his shoulder to see the other boy of the mural- exactly the same as if a day hasn't gone by. The boy was frowning, glaring at him in total hatred. Why did he hate him?_

It's your fault we're here. You get to run off with a part of me while I stay incomplete.

_He opened his mouth to deny these claims and ask what was his fault. The boy cut him off._

No, it is. I lost my two friends while you made friends with people who don't deserve you!

_He was right. He didn't deserve his two friends’ friendship. Not with how he treated them half the time. But he didn't want to be alone anymore. The dark was once his only friend, but he didn't want to go back to that. For all he had done, they stuck by him through all his faults. So what if this boy had lost his two friends? How dare he say he didn't deserve the only two people who liked him enough no matter what he did! He had no right to accuse him!_

They only pity you. They don't love a monster like you. You're only a monster who steals things to satisfy his own needs. You don't deserve to live!

_The boy was yelling, but no words came to him. Only the sound of cracking glass was his focus._

_Suddenly, the mural shattered beneath his feet. He gasped, falling further into the darkness while, above, the boy floated as if there was still ground beneath him. The boy glared down at him with no sympathy as he cried for help. Falling into the darkness, he couldn't help but wonder what he did to deserve this, to deserve this boy's hatred. He grew numb, wondering and wishing he knew what had happened as the darkness grabbed him into its embrace._

"Arun, you lazy ass! Get up!"

Arun yelped from where something hard hit him on the head. Bolting straight up, he looked around his small messy room to see Caelum standing by his door tossing a baseball up and down in one hand.

"Damnit, Caelum. What'd you do that for?" Arun complained, nursing the new bump on his head.

"You wouldn't get up. Do you have any idea what time it is?" Caelum scolded.

"It's summer vacation. Do I look like I know?"

"You idiot! Did you forget what day it is?" He received a blank look. "It's Arty's birthday! We were supposed to meet at the Freeman Bakery this morning, but you were a no show!"

"Arty's..." A dawning realization hit him. "That was today? Oh, man. I completely forgot."

"Forgot about the bakery, or forgot it was her birthday?"

"Uh, which one will get me in the least amount of trouble?"

Caelum sighed in exasperation. "Go get dressed. Arty is waiting downstairs."

Arun nodded quickly and sprung off the bed to go get dressed. He was thankful Caelum was in such a good mood to let him go so easily. Normally, he would get scolded for forgetting something as important as Arty's birthday. But, maybe he was saving the lecture for later when she wasn't around.

_That sounds like him_ , he thought as he pulled on a black shirt over his head. If there was one thing he hated the most in the world, it was Caelum getting pissed at him. Caelum was terrifying as him when he got angry and an angry Caelum was not a nice thing. Especially when it came to Arty. He winced, remembering one time he made the girl cry.  _He's younger than me but he scares the crap out of me sometimes. Not that I'll ever admit it._

He pulled on his khaki pants and belted it with a black and white checkered belt. Pulling on a half white-half black hoodie, he made his way out of his room. Arun walked past his empty kitchen and tiny living room to head straight for the front door.

Outside on his front porch, he found Caelum waiting impatiently along with a more patient Arty. When he came out Arty smiled.

"Sorry, I slept in," Arun apologized.

"Obviously," Caelum scoffed.

Arty simply shook her head, waving it off.

"No, it's fine. I guess you had a late night?"

"No. Well, I stay up late a bit. I was hit with inspiration in the middle of the night, but that's not why I slept in."

"What a shock. You spent half the night writing, drawing, or playing your music again," Caelum said in a mocking tone.

"Hey, I'm an artist! I gotta get ideas done before they're gone forever!" Arun protested. "One day, one of them might be a gold mine. How am I supposed to know if I don't write it down?"

"And so far which of your works have been a gold mine?" Arun said nothing, which caused Caelum to smirk. "Exactly."

He flushed. "Well, one day they'll be famous! Just you wait! I'm going to be famous one day while you'll be some boring old man!"

"Arun, Caelum, please don't fight. It's my birthday," Arty pleaded to the two boys. "Can't we all just get along? I don't want my best friends fighting on my birthday."

Arun and Caelum fell silent but continued to glare at one another. Normally, they would ignore her and continue to argue until it escalated into a fist fight. Since this was Arty’s birthday, Arun backed down.

The three lived in the quaint but small town of Meryton, which sat beside a large river. In their town, everybody knew everyone and knew the latest news of what went on in town. To the adults the town was peaceful, but for the younger generations, a small town was stifling. It didn't help the town was surrounded by forests as far as the eye could see. The place was beautiful. There was no doubt about that. But it wasn't enough. All the young adults agreed that they felt trapped within the town.

"So what's the real reason you woke up so late?" Arty asked as they began walking down Main Street. It was late morning so most of the town was out and about to get to the places they needed to go. Main Street was just a strip of road that connected to all the other few streets in town. Arun lived just a block away from Main Street so he was never far. It was on this street all the shops, restaurants, and the single movie theater were located. All the teenagers hung around this street for entertainment. During summer vacation, it was more lively.

"I had this weird dream last night," replied Arun as they moved past the town residents standing around, chatting to neighbors and friends. "I dreamt I was on this glass pillar and some boy was talking to me. He was saying things that didn't make sense like how I was a monster and didn't deserve anything. Then, the pillar shattered and I was falling into the darkness."

"A boy calling you a monster? Why?" she asked, worried.

"I dunno. But, when he called me that, I felt as if...I regretted something I did to him."

"Did you remember meeting the boy you're talking about before?"

"Maybe before I was six. Other than that, no."

"Maybe your conscious is trying to tell you something," Caelum commented after a moment.

Arun tilted his head, curious. "And what would my conscious be telling me with a dream like that?"

"That you need to be more of a good person. After all, there were those fights you got into before school let out for the summer."

Arty tensed, her back straightening up as she whipped her head to Arun. "Fights? What fights?"

Arun reached around Arty to punch Caelum on the shoulder, a glare in his golden eyes. "Nice going, idiot. You weren't supposed to mention that."

"Arun, you promised you wouldn't get into trouble anymore!"

Arun scowled. It was hard trying not to get into fights all the time. It wasn't like he wanted to get into them! They just happened! Okay, he might have punched one of the guys who were pretty annoying. But they were the school idiots! They did whatever they wanted without regard for what they were doing in school. Granted, he was being a bit of a hypocrite since he didn't care about school either. But, that's besides the point! They were disrupting school for Arty and that was all that mattered. So, he may have gotten into a fight with them…More or less.

"Who started the fight?" she demanded.

"Don't look at me! I didn't start it. I ended it."

"You better not be lying to me, Arun."

"I'm not! I swear I didn't start a fight with anyone."

"Yeah, right," Caelum muttered under his breath.

Arty stared at him for a moment, looking him straight in his golden eyes. Usually guarded, he let down his walls to convey what he said. Finally, she smiled.

"Alright. I trust you. You didn't start a fight."

"Good. Otherwise, I would have needed to convince you in another way," he answered, smug.

She rolled her eyes. "Sure you would. Still, I wonder what your dream was about? It sounds pretty weird."

"Yeah." He didn't say it, but the dream worried him. What could it have meant? It did feel as if he knew the boy. The question was how he knew him. The boy seemed so real and the pain he felt was the same. The boy appearing seemed like a warning of what was to come somehow.

He dismissed that thought. He was reading too much into the dream.

_It's just a dream. Nothing more, nothing less,_  he told himself. It didn't mean anything to him if he didn't know what it was about.

All thoughts of the dream were pushed to the back of his mind when Arty stopped in front of a shop window they were passing.

"Wow! That's so cool," she sighed dreamily.

Arun and Caelum shared a look when they saw what she was staring at. The store Arty was staring at was a local mechanic's shop. Past the window, she was staring at several pieces the local mechanic, Lowell, kept in his shop for display. Arty was fascinated with the customized motorcycle he kept there that stopped working some time ago but was one of his first machines he built. Almost anyone would pass the store without a second glance. Not Arty. No, never her.

What most people in town didn't know was how Arty liked this sort of thing. She loved anything to do with science or engineering. On the outside, she looked like your average girl with nothing special about her. On the contrary, she was incredibly smart. She could solve complicated math problems without any trouble as well as fix a car or machine if given the tools. Arun had seen her do it. The girl was talented. But in such a small town, she was forced to look and act like an idiot. The only people who knew she was smart were her father and two friends as she felt self-conscious about her intelligence. In a town like their’s, who wouldn’t be?

"Do you like that?" Caelum asked.

Arty nodded absently. "But I don't have the money to buy or make anything like that. Dad couldn't give me any money since they changed his payday." She sighed in frustration, continuing down the street. "I hate this town. I wish we could build a ship and sail down the river to some other world or something."

"Yes, that does sound like a nice plan," Caelum mused.

"Another world? And you call my dreams weird," Arun scoffed.

"What's wrong with believing in other worlds? I thought you were an artist," Arty said. She pulled her attention away from the window to raise a curious eyebrow at him.

"I  _am_  an artist. I also happen to be part realist, part idealist, and part anarchist. I create other worlds in my imagination, but I don't believe we could honestly visit other worlds outside our head."

"You're also pessimistic," Caelum added. "How can you be sure other worlds don't exist?"

"I don't know. They just don't! Besides, Arty's the bookworm. She shouldn't believe in other worlds in the first place."

"Actually, there's a legend about there being other worlds out there," Arty argued. "Dad heard this legend nearly his entire childhood from his dad. It's basically about how there was a huge war to obtain and possess a light so pure everyone wanted it. Multiple worlds used to be one large one before the war. When it ended darkness swallowed the world along with the light. But tiny lights managed to survive in the darkness that soon became the worlds we know today."

"So Meryton used to be part of a larger world? How interesting," Caelum thought out loud.

"Yeah, for a legend. It's not even true!" Arun exclaimed.

Arty glared at him. "Most legends are based on truths."

"Exaggerated truths, sure, but not on this level. Seriously, other worlds? Light? Darkness? What are we, little kids afraid of the dark? There's no such thing as other worlds.”

"How can we be certain that worlds don't exist? Maybe they do. One day we might find the means to leave this world and start new lives," Caelum said.

Arun sighed in frustration. Between the stubborn Arty and the relentless Caelum, he was never going to convince them. Rather, they would convince  _him_  in turn.

"Fine. Let's pretend for a second I  _do_  believe in other worlds. What kind of world would you want to go to and start a new life?"

Arty paused, putting a finger to her lips as she stared at the sky. "I think I would live in a castle town or someplace with a lot of gardens."

"Really? I thought you'd want to live in a city or someplace with a lot of technology."

"I suppose, but cities are too stuffy. I want to live in a place where there are some people, but it's surrounded by beautiful forests or gardens."

"Arty, have I ever told you how strange you can be at times?" Arun said, fondly.

She smacked his arm. "Oh, shut up! Don't tease the birthday girl."

"Yeah, maybe that could be your gift to her this year," Caelum suggested, chuckling. "And speaking of gifts..."

He reached into his pocket to pull out a small rectangular box brightly covered in wrapping paper. He held it out to Arty.

"Happy Birthday, Arty."

"Wow!" Arty lifted the lid of the box to reveal silver crescent-shaped earrings with small sapphires at the top tip. She gasped. "Are these real?"

"Yup," he confirmed. "I had to work extra shifts at the mail office to afford them, but they're real."

"Oh, Caelum. You didn't have to do this."

"I know. I wanted to."

Arty pulled Caelum into a hug. He squeezed back, looking over her shoulder to where Arun stood and gave a satisfied smirk. Arun scowled. He knew he was challenging him to do better, which he couldn't. He forgot it was Arty's birthday. Caelum knew he didn't have a present for her and that would make  _him_  look better.

_Oh, I'll show him._  He was going to prove to Caelum he had the better present for Arty. Even though it would be late, it would still be better!

Now, if only he knew what it was.

xxx

Arun drummed his fingertips against the wood of his desk, a pencil balanced between the fingers of his right hand. This was so frustrating! He didn't know what to make for Arty's birthday gift. Unlike Caelum, who bought a gift for her, he decided to make something.

Most people didn't realize that beneath his tough exterior he was pretty creative with some materials. Making things was an outlet for all his pent-up anger he manifested from various things in his life. To contrast with his ability to destroy and the need to defeat something he picked up the habit of creating things out of nothing. Only Arty, her father, Caelum, and his art teachers knew he was handy with tools to create and destroy. Mainly, he used his tools to create.

He needed to figure out what to make exactly for Arty that could make up for his lack of a gift ready. He thought about buying her tools and some scrap metal for her to fool around with, but that was out of the question. He didn't have the money for tools and he couldn't find any scrap metal.

Then, he remembered Arty, despite being a gear head, was a girl. She liked pretty baubles and trinkets. He never understood why girls liked things like gems and anything that sparkled pretty. The gems were worth a lot, yes. Did that mean everything fake cheap glass in jewelry was pretty? He didn't know how girls could be so enchanted with fake glass on some metal. But it worked by the way she seemed happy with the earrings Caelum gave her.

His first idea was to make her something like a ring with some fake glass on it. However, he didn't know how big Arty's fingers were. He didn't want to make the ring too big so it often slipped off her fingers nor too small so they wouldn't fit and get stuck. Scrapping that idea, he decided through the list of jewelry he knew such as necklaces and bracelets. As he thought about it none of them seemed to fit Arty. Things like bracelets and necklaces would get in the way of her work depending on the chain he used. He couldn't imagine her wearing things like that. It was like her long hair-it got in the way. Yet, she never had the heart to cut it.

Arun abruptly sat up, his eyes widening. Long hair...

_That's it!_

He scrambled for a new blank piece of paper to scribble down his new idea.

The night was long as he sat at that desk. The moon started its journey across the sky, rising high slowly. Time had no effect on the one determined to finish what he promised to do. It was four hours later late at night he managed to complete it.

Arun yawned and stretched, rubbing his eye. He looked down tiredly at his new piece of work with a content look. It wasn't his best, but he tried.

On his wooden desk among several broken and twisted pieces of metal were two hairpins. They were simple in design with merely a metal sun painted gold and red on each. It was what was in the center of each sun that was the main piece of the pins. They were but simple red marbles he had from his days at the orphanage. Really, they were the only things he owned during those days. No one would consider them important, but they were to him. It hurt him a bit to part with them for a good cause. Yet, he did it.

He smiled. He was sure Arty would love these considering how important those marbles were to him.

_No, she'll definitely like them._

Nodding to himself, he reached for a box and some spare wrapping paper from his last birthday a few months ago. He glanced at the clock to see it was almost three in the morning. Arty normally stayed up to do some research or work on some new secret project. He could deliver it now or do it later and forget it.

He decided to do the former.

Once he finished wrapping the hairpins, he grabbed his jacket and headed out after locking up. He walked through the near silent town as no one would be up at such a forsaken hour. He kept to the shadows as he usually did at night. Nothing was visible except for his golden eyes.

To some, it looked frightening. The way his eyes looked in the daylight was already creepy. At night, some said, they glowed. Some of the night walkers avoided him when they saw eyes glowing in the dark. Hearing these stories, he got some sadistic pleasure. It was always fun to hear how much the town feared him on some level. He hurried on towards Arty's home by the ports.

It did not take him long before he came to the neighborhood by the ports. The street was dim with a few street lamps on. A few of the porch lights were on. He headed towards the house toward the end where one of the windows in the second story was on. He darted towards the window at the side of the house. Finding some pebbles, he threw them as lightly as he could at the window.

"Arty! Arty, open the window!" hissed Arun.

He waited for a moment. Then, the window opened. Arty poked her head out, rubbing her eyes. She blinked wearily down at him.

"Arun? What are you doing here? It's three in the morning," Arty said groggily. It seemed like she must have fallen asleep while working again.

"I know. Come down. I have something for you."

She stared at him for a second. She nodded and disappeared from view. A few minutes later she appeared out of the back door of her house.

"What did you want?" Arty yawned.

"Just this." Arun took out the present from his jacket pocket. He handed it to her. For some reason, his cheeks warmed. "I know it's a bit late, but I wanted to give this to you while I could. Happy Birthday, Arty."

Arty glanced at the present, then to him. She took the present and was about to open it when the strangest thing happened.

Arun thought it was odd on the way to Arty's house the sky seemed to darken to the point not even the moon was not visible. He always noticed where the darkness was and how dark it could get at night. It was an affinity he had. He felt it was darker than ever as he stood there with Arty in her backyard. A shiver went down his spine as he felt something move in the shadows.

That was when all hell broke loose.

Out of the corner of his eye, Arun noticed how Arty's hand and the present made a shadow from her porch light. His eyes widened when he saw the shadows stirred as if they were bubbling. Horror filled him when the shadows rose- _literally!_ -out of the ground.

"Arty, look out!" he cried out.

He grabbed her arm as the shadow's claws brushed against her shirt. She gasped.

"Wh-What are those?" she asked, eyes wide from seeing the strange creatures. They were full of fear, but some curiosity swirled in their stormy depths.

"I don't know," Arun answered. What he did know was that whatever that thing was it was dangerous. He could feel it in the pit of his stomach.

The strange shadows that strangely resembled ants stood there, their heads twitching. He waited in anticipation. Why weren't they attacking?

Screams suddenly filled the air. It sent shivers down the two teenagers' spines. It was as if the very earth was screaming. But, no, these were human screams. They were the screams of the people who lived in their town.

Arty gasped.

"Dad!"

She went dashing off back towards her house. As she did, the shadows responded. They went crawling towards her with a swiftness he did not know a thing could possess.

"Hey! Leave her alone!" Arun ran up to the nearest shadow and kicked it. It was sent flying into the nearest one near Arty. It gave her enough time to run back into the house to slam the door shut. He would have thought she was safe until she heard a resulting scream from within the house.

"Dad! No!"

In another instant Arty came running back outside, sobbing. She ran to Arun but nearly tripped in the process. He had to catch her before she fell. She started to sob into his chest.

"Arun! Dad...that thing got him...! Turned into one of them!" Arty said. It was hard to tell what she was saying through her tears.

Arun would have been more worried about the fate of her father if not for the fact they were being surrounded by those shadows again. He pulled her away.

"Arty, you can cry later. But, right now we need to go check on Caelum, understand?" he asked, forcing her to look at him. Instead of feeling playful, he was serious for once. Something was going on and it wasn't good on their part.

She nodded.

Grabbing her hand, Arun pulled her across her backyard, jumping over the shadows. He wasn't sure how to go about killing them. At the moment he couldn't fight back with Arty to think about. Going through the fence, they came to the street to meet a terrible sight.

People were running out of their homes screaming with the black shadow creatures all around. They were attacking the townspeople relentlessly. Arun's eyes widened when he saw that instead of falling to the ground in a dead heap the human bodies vanished into thin air while purple-red hearts floated out. Those hearts were engulfed in a black darkness for a second before they became those black creatures.

_What's going on? Why are they...?_

"Arun! Hurry!" Arty gasped, hiding behind Arun to avoid seeing the people disappear.

He shook his head. Seeing this was awful enough. If Arty or even Caelum became those creatures...He shuddered.

Arun ran through the street while keeping Arty close. He tried to avoid the shadows as much as he could. With all his fencing abilities behind him for the life of him, he could not fight without a sword. Caelum always told him he had to learn other skills that didn't have to do with a weapon. Now, of all times, Caelum was right. A small part of him died at admitting Caelum was right. But, he could bury that part as soon as they were out of danger.

They had to get to Caelum's block.

Miraculously, they did.

Arun pulled Arty around the corner but came to a halt. All the blood drained from his face making it even paler when he saw a creature that looked a larger version of the ant-like shadows. However, these were leaner and had longer antennas. Its claws were razor sharp.

Arty gasped. Arun dared not breathe in fear it would see them. However, it remained where it was its head twitching and tilting to the side as if not sure what to do. He pulled Arty behind him, his eyes never leaving the creatures.

"Arty, go around it slowly. Then, get yourself to Caelum's. I'll try to distract it," he whispered to her over his shoulder.

Arty shook her head, clinging to him.

"No! I'm not leaving you, Arun!" she hissed back.

"This isn't a request! Caelum can keep you safe!"

"But-" She was about to argue further. It died on her lips when he shifted his head to look into her eyes. His own golden ones were narrowed into a cold glare.

"Arty. Don't argue. Go. Now."

She held his gaze for a moment. Finally, she relented. Biting her lip, she pulled away from him. Glancing a look to the shadow, she carefully tiptoed past it. As soon as she was past its vision, she tried to make a run for it.

Unfortunately, her movement did not go unnoticed. The creature finally moved. It whirled its head to Arty. With claws ready to sink into flesh it lunged at her. And she didn't see it coming from behind her.

Arun felt as if the world had frozen. His eyes grew wide when seeing it lunge at Arty. He was frozen for a second, and then his body moved. Without thinking, he placed himself in the shadow's path mere inches away from where it would sink its claws into Arty. He didn't have time to react except to think of the dream he had that morning. All he could remember were angry blue eyes when unbelievably sharp claws pierced into his skin.

Arun's chest burned. He screamed as his chest grew hot from where the claws sank into him before it went ice cold. His breath hitched. His body seized up before it loosened. All strength drained away. He began to sink to his knees as he heard Arty scream his name in a way he never wanted to hear it before all went black.

 


	2. Into the Light

Darkness.

The everlasting element of the world that had many representations. Some could call it hope, others could call it evil. Above all else, it represented the endless oblivion people will one day wander through endlessly. It is there they will lose themselves to the sweet bliss of nothingness.

Darkness was what surrounded him, embracing him in a cold grip that refused to let go-would never let go again. It overtook all his senses, throwing them into the abyss to never return. The cold seeped through his very heart, snaking through everything he held dear to throw carelessly off into nothing. He struggled against it as it began to take his memories away one by one. His time at the orphanage, his life on the streets...Those memories were taken from him before he could do anything. But, when it began to make its way to his memories of his friends, he thrashed against it.

_NO! DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH IT!_

The darkness, his once friend and only companion, could take everything he represented. But, if it was willingly going to take the very things that made him the person he was, he would spit it in the face and punch it. For all he cared it could go to Hell if that wasn't where he already was. He fought against the darkness' cold grip crawling through his heart. The tiny light within his heart was about to go out.

As it drew closer and closer and he realized merely struggling wouldn't do anything good, he did the one thing he would never stoop to: cry for help.

_Please! Someone...Anyone! Help me!_

He continued to cry for someone to help him. He never deserved this fate. He didn't want to fall into the darkness again. That time of his life was over and he had something to fight for. With the darkness inches from his heart about to snatch his light away, he hoped desperately he could live. Was it fair he was losing everything? Did he not go through enough pain as it was?

 _Hm? Who are you?_ said a new voice, echoing throughout the dark.

Suddenly, a bright light appeared in front of him. Both he and the darkness flinched, but it was the darkness that slithered away to hide once more. He stayed where he was, staring straight into the warm light that had saved him from losing his own. It crept closer to him until it was directly in front of him.

 _Oh...It's_ you, the voice-light?-said. From what he could tell, it wasn't happy to see him by the way its light dimmed. It backed away, floating in place. _So, that's where you went. Why are you calling for help? I thought you liked the darkness. It's where you were born, after all._

He didn't know what to think of that. Was he born from the darkness? Impossible!

_It's true. You were my opposite before we were separated. Even when you weren't a part of me anymore, you tried to end me. You wanted to make me a part of you instead and take away everything I held close._

The strange light had taken on a bitter tone, flashing high and low in place of emotions. Like a broken light, it flickered endlessly. It made him sick. What did it mean he used to be its opposite? Was he truly dark? He was used to being in the darkness, never fully getting rid of it as time went on. But, was he truly cruel enough to force someone to become a part of him?

He would never take away someone else's everything. Not when everything he had was about to be taken. He cradled his tiny spark of light, which flickered dimly. It was the only thing keeping him from falling to the dark, yet it was about to go out. It was still weak from when he had to fight against the darkness to keep it.

 _Where did you get that? How did you find your own light?_ The light circled around him, poking and prodding him for answers he knew not. When the light touched him he felt its curiosity and alarm. Why was it so alarmed he had his own light? After awhile, it stopped. _Your light...it was given to you willingly. It doesn't want to leave you just yet. Not when you have your own friends you care for. Strange...That light feels familiar. And it's not even mine! I guess...you've changed when you cherished a light that given to you._

Of course he had changed! He knew his light was about to go out before he met his friends. If he never met them when he had, he would have fallen to the dark long ago without a care for anyone but himself. His light suddenly felt heavy where he held it. His friends...He didn't know where he was. The darkness had taken away his ability to return to them. He didn't know how to get back to them. Would his light eventually fade if he was stuck here in the oblivion?

The light bounced around furiously.

 _No! Don't think like that! I can tell you changed because of the light you hold. There's no way I'm letting it fade away! Not right now, anyway._ It zipped around him. _Hm...I have an idea. Follow me!_

The light zoomed forward into the never ending darkness. He quickly followed suit, for once afraid of the darkness that would destroy him. He wasn't certain of what the light meant, but as long as it got him out he didn't care.

It led him through the dark for awhile. It was a guiding light he had always wished and dreaded alone in the dark. As it was, he was having mixed feelings of allowing the light to lead him. Was it truly wishing for his well being? Or was it bent on destroying him? He couldn't be sure because of the hostile tone it took once they had met one another. The light seemed to know him somehow. However, he could only deduce it didn't know him on such friendly terms. If so, why was it helping him?

He would never understand.

Finally, after crossing through the dark for what seemed like an eternity, something popped out of the bleakness. The light slowed towards what looked to be a white door. He did as well, staring at it curiously. It zipped around the door once and then bounced in front of him.

 _This is it! If you go through this door, you'll be able to return,_ it told him _. But, you have to make me a promise._

A promise?

_Yeah. Swear you won't go back to the way you were before. You can't do any of the things that hurt me in the end._

A strange promise, but one he would make. He didn't want to be that person he was once before he met his friends. He didn't want to think and trust only himself anymore. It was too lonely to bear.

 _Good. Because I hated how you were before, even if you were my opposite._ The light floated close to him again-close enough to hold in his hand. It was warm and happy. _You better take good care of it. I'm only lending it to you until I wake up again. After that...Well, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it._

The light nuzzled him, showing affection he wasn't sure how to respond to.

_Take care...Other me._

Before he could do anything, the light zipped off once more into the darkness and disappeared.

He stared into the black abyss. What was he supposed to do now? What did the light give him? What did it mean by letting him borrow it? Borrow what? There were so many questions he had to ask, but the light was gone. He would never know.

He turned back to the door. It was tall and bright with elegant designs too realistic to be a dream. Would this be his salvation? There was only one way to find out.

He reached for the door.

* * *

xxx

* * *

 

Arun slowly opened his eyes, a strange feeling overcoming him. He winced when a bright light attacked his eyes. He lifted his hands to his eyes, rubbing the heels against them.

 _Gah...So sleepy,_ he thought groggily. His body was so heavy with exhaustion. It felt as if he pulled three all-nighters without a hint of caffeine in his system. He yawned widely, stretching his limbs until they popped. With a sigh of relief, he opened his eyes. Then, he blinked at what he saw. _What the...?_

He expected to be in his room in all its messy glory. What he found instead was a room so pure white it made his eyes hurt. The room was spacious enough to fit his entire school (which was small to begin with), and then some. The walls matched the floor, but upon closer inspection, there were light gray chain-like etching crossing the floor from where he sat to reach towards an elegant door. The markings glowed with a strange light, but that could have been his eyes playing tricks on him. When he noticed he was sitting on something he nearly jumped off to see it was a pure white throne. However, his legs were so heavy and numb he fell to the hard ground.

"Ow!" Arun cried out, hands snapping to the back of his head. He froze. Something was wrong. Was it him, or was his voice slightly higher like he didn't exactly finish puberty? Which was strange since he was already sixteen and his voice stopped cracking ages ago. "That's weird."

He slapped his mouth. He wasn't imagining it! He said those things! That was _his_ voice! Hesitantly, he removed his hand.

"Hi, my name is Arun. Ah!" Arun yelped. What was going on? Why did he sound like that? He looked around the room. "Hello? Is anyone here?"

As expected, no one answered back. He was definitely alone.

Arun stood up, yet paused at a strange feeling. Something about his body seemed...off. Why did he feel like he had somehow shrunk down? He looked down at himself and gasped. Instead of wearing his black t-shirt and jeans he was wearing a cross between armor and street clothes in black, white, gray, and green. Another thing caught his attention. Despite living by a river, he never got much sun so his skin was normally pale. Right now, he looked down at his hands to see they were a nice peach color. How the heck did that happen?

He patted down his clothes and skin, not quite believing what he was seeing. How could his skin be a different shade? The clothes he could understand if Caelum was being a jerk, but it was impossible to change a person's skin tone! How did he get like this? And where was he?

_I remember it was night and I was dropping off Arty's birthday gift when those weird ants came._

He gasped. The black ants! He remembered now! Those things showed up and people started disappearing. One of them tried to attack Arty and he protected her. Then...He frowned. What happened after? The ant's attack hurt to the point it felt like his heart was being ripped out. He remembered _that_ all too well. There was darkness, but past that he remembered nothing. He woke up in this strange place.

"But how did I get here?" he asked aloud. It confused him. Why couldn't remember anything else? He couldn't have appeared in the room out of nowhere, could he? It was impossible. He snorted. "Black ants eating people's hearts turned out to be possible. I guess that can, too."

Whatever the case he still had to figure out where he was. And find Arty and Caelum while he was at it.

Arun walked to the door, grimacing at how awkward he felt. He had to find a mirror to see what was wrong with his body. He opened the door, walking out in a large hallway with the same color scheme: white. This time, pedestals and columns were the new decoration, but they were still white. He winced. His inner artist was cringing at the lack of color. It was terrible for someone who loved the color black.

 _Now, black was a nice color_ , he thought. It didn't hurt the eyes too harshly like white could. He walked down the hallway. But, then again, with white one could at least add color to it. Black nearly took everything over if given the chance. Still, some color variety would be nice. _You'd think the person who designed this place would want anything other than white._

He began to think of how strange this place was. He was pretty sure it was a castle since most castles had hallways as wide and long as his entire school. Another odd thing he found was how he didn't see any doors or windows. Just blank walls that stretched in forever, which were annoying. He wanted to see where he was.

It was half an hour later and no end in sight he started getting annoyed.

"Man, what's with this place? Who builds a hallway this long?" Arun groaned, kicking the marble ground. He huffed, glaring at the walls as if they had offended him. In a way they had. "Whoever the architect was should never build again. Him, and the interior designer. I'm sick of white! Haven't they heard of the color wheel before?

He hoped he never had to see this much white ever again.

Arun stopped for a second to lean against a column. His body tired out so easily for some reason. Why did his body feel so heavy? He was so tired. His eyelids slid closed.

 _Just for one minute,_ he thought sleepily. He yawned and relaxed, preparing to fall asleep. He was on the verge of sleep land when he heard two voices.

"Man, why did they send me here? This is a waste of time," said a young teenage boy's voice.

Arun snapped his eyes back open. He turned his head to the direction he was previously headed. His jaw dropped open when he saw a swirling black mass of shadows in the middle of the hallway. If that wasn't startling enough, two figures (both of whom were taller than him) stepped out of the mass. They were both dressed in black cloaks covering their entire body up to their ankles. Even then, they wore black boots reaching their knees. One was a young man that had to be in his early twenties with spiky red hair and green eyes with strange tattoos underneath them on his cheeks. The other was a blond with a mullet haircut, who also had blue eyes.

"Come on, Axel. It's not that bad," said the blond to the redhead. He smiled. "Hey, at least we don't have to do any fighting!"

His companion rolled his eyes. "I'd take fighting any day to this lame mission. This might be your thing, but it's not mine."

"Well, I want to be back at the castle. I guess this mission is better than getting beat up. And it's easy! We just have to find some hidden room here, right?"

"Sure. Easy. Last time I was here I couldn't find anything in that whole week."

"Seriously? Dang!"

Arun stood up. It was obvious they hadn't seen him yet. Since these were the only two people he found so far (albeit in a strange way), he could ask for a way out. After all, the redhead said he came here before. He must have know where the exit was.

"Excuse me?" he said, walking towards the pair. They snapped their eyes to him and started staring. He smiled at them as friendly as he could. He knew that when dealing with strangers it was always best to smile. Or, at least, that's what Arty told him."Do you know how to get out of here? I'm not sure where we are, so would you mind showing me where the exit is?"

He nearly regretted asking when he saw them staring at them with wide eyes. It was uncomfortable to be stared at like that as they said nothing. He laughed nervously, reaching a hand up to rub the back of his head. This was starting to get weird.

"What? Is something on my face?"

When he spoke again they were broken out of their daze. The blond haired one launched himself at him to grasp him in a tight hug. Arun yelped.

"Roxas! You're alive! We thought you were stuck in that Sora kid forever!" he exclaimed, excitedly. He released him and patted him on the back. "Axel said you were gone and you couldn't remember anything about us or the Organization. Everyone flipped out when you left. Boss even said we had to kill you since you betrayed us, but that was pretty harsh. You didn't do anything wrong except leave. Have you been here this whole time?"

Arun blinked in confusion during the boy's rant. When he stopped he took several seconds to answer.

"Um...what? Sorry, but I think you've got the wrong guy. My name's Arun. Not, uh, Rucksack?" he questioned. What kind of name was that? What a stupid name. Not that he could say anything since his name was pretty dumb as well.

"Huh? So, you really did lose your memory. You don't remember me?"

Arun shook his head.

The boy frowned, looking hurt.

"It's me, Demyx!" He earned a blank stare. He gaped. "What? Then, what about Axel? You have to remember Axel. You two hung out a lot!"

Demyx gestured over to the redhead he supposed was Axel. Axel studied him with intense eyes. It was as if he was trying to figure something out.

"Sorry, but I've never met either of you before," Arun apologized.

"That's impossible! I can't believe this. He can't remember anything!"

"Hey! My memory's just fine. Maybe you need to get your eyesight checked because I'm not this guy you're talking about," Arun snapped. He got annoyed at how they mistook him for another person. And after he already introduced himself, too! He shoved the guy off. "My name is Arun. Air-en Get your facts straight already."

"But-"

"Demyx, enough," said Axel, causing Demyx to stop short. He eyed Arun once again and shook his head. "He's not Roxas. He looks like him, but it's not him. Roxas remembered who he was the last time we fought."

Demyx gasped. "But, then, who's this? He looks just like Roxas."

"I told you my name is Arun. Geez, what are you guys on?" Arun wondered. This was probably the strangest conversation he had ever been a part of. And this was saying something when he hung out with a gear head like Arty! He was pretty sure his name was Arun, not this 'Roxas' guy. He shook his head. He was wasting his time having this conversation. "Look, can one of you show me the way out? I need to find my friends."

Axel and Demyx exchanged a look.

"You know, not many people can come in this castle," Axel mentioned, casually. "Only special people can. How did you end up here?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. I woke up in some kind of room."

"A room? Axel, you don't think-" Demyx began.

"How did you end up in that room?" he said, cutting Demyx off.

Arun frowned. He didn't feel like sharing how he ended up from one place to wake up in that weird room. Something about these two threw him off and it didn't feel right.

He liked to believe that he was pretty good at knowing whether people were good or not. He would get sickly, dark feelings that washed over him when near these people. It was an odd but useful quirk. It was a strange thing and it almost didn't seem possible until he saw a man who looked perfectly fine once, but he turned out he was a sick pervert. Arun didn't trust the guy the moment he saw him because of his quirk. From these two alone, his skin broke out in a cold sweat as tingles raced through his nervous system.

"You know what? I'll go find the exit myself." Arun walked past Demyx to walk down the hallway. He was about brush past Axel when the teen outstretched his hand. The air shimmered in front of Arun as a huge chakram appeared in his hand out of nowhere. Arun froze, staring at the sharp end of one of the many sharp spikes protruding from the circular weapon.

Out of the corner of his eye, Axel smirked.

"Sorry, but you're coming with us."

Arun's fighting instincts sprang up. He jumped back from Axel to get some distance between them, slipping into his fighting stance although his hand looked awkward in the air without a sword. He wished he had one right now. He took in Axel's two chakrams in his hands, which he swung lazily. But, he could see Axel was ready to attack if need be.

Demyx was the only one panicking.

"Axel, what are you doing? Why do we need him?" he asked, glancing warily between the two.

"Yeah, and is there a reason you almost killed me?" Arun questioned.

"You know something we want. You can tell us now, or we'll have to extract the information from you by force. I prefer either one," said Axel, grinning. The lust for a good fight sparkled in his eyes, making Arun wonder how he didn't see that before.

Normally, Arun would love to give him a good fight. He relished them, although Arty discouraged him multiple times. Without a weapon, however, he couldn't imagine fighting. He knew no other way to defend himself like Caelum did. Because he didn't have a weapon, that was how he nearly died protecting Arty. He knew what would happen if he fought again without a weapon. And, he wasn't prepared to go through _that_ experience again.

"Yeah, that's not gonna happen," Arun said, trying to keep calm. All he could see were the spikes waiting to impale him and slice him to bits. Were chakrams usually like that?

"You don't have a choice."

"Says who?"

Axel's grin widened. "Says me, that's who."

He flicked his hands, throwing the chakram straight towards him. Arun moved, pushing himself to the ground as the chakram sailed over his head. Rolling across the ground, he pushed himself back up to his feet and bolted down the hallway when he realized the swirling mass from earlier. It was still there and directly in his path of escape. He tried to sidestep it, but his body, so heavy and foreign, did not respond in a way he wanted. Instead, his foot slipped.

Arun yelped, tumbling head first into the dark swirling mass of shadows. Behind him, he heard Axel yelling at Demyx.

"Keep the portal open! We can't let him get-" He never got to hear the end of the sentence as Axel was cut off.

He hit the ground, his chin hitting it first.

"Second time today," Arun groaned, his knee throbbing from how he landed. What was wrong with him? He was never _this_ clumsy before. His center of balance was off, which he didn't like at all. Shaking off the pain, he pushed himself up to stand. He took a moment to look around. Yet again, he found himself confused.

The white hallway of the castle had disappeared to be replaced by a strange warped space of nothingness. Or, at least, that was how he saw it. There was absolutely nothing around him but a swirling spacious area of white, peach, and black to stretch into oblivion.

 _Hm, that was almost poetic,_ he thought, scanning the area. He had no idea where he was or what to do. If it stretched into oblivion, then what could he do? He wasn't even sure how he was standing when there was no floor underneath him! He couldn't keep walking until he found someone. _Yeah, and look how well that turned out to be._

No, he wasn't going to do that again. If there were people like that in the world, he certainly didn't want to meet more of them. He only wanted to find Arty and Caelum, wherever they were.

"I wonder where they are." He sighed. How long has he been gone? He didn't know how they got separated in the first place. Still, he had to go find them. They must be so worried.

_Well, Arty would be. Caelum would call me stupid for getting myself lost._

Arun snorted. That was more his style. Well, he had to think of something. He couldn't be stuck there forever.

He tapped his chin in thought, his eyes roaming around the area. Honestly, why was he getting into such strange places today? This was new, even for him. He could get into trouble, but not this much in such a short time. He passed over the swirling colors, appreciating how they weren't white. Then, he saw it.

A shining light in front of him.

Arun walked over to the sparkling light. When did that get there? He studied it cautiously with an apprehensive eye. That black mass brought him to this place. Where would this one lead?

"Anything's better than this place, that's for sure," he decided.

Nodding, he slowly stepped into the light. The black mass was cold and slimy as if something was trying to grab him from all directions. This...The light wrapped around him like a warm blanket. It shielded him from anything frightening and took away all his fears. Strangely enough, it felt familiar. That strange place disappeared behind him.

The light shone so brightly around him he could barely see. Then, all went white.

 


	3. Discoveries

When Arun came to he could have sworn he heard birds singing in his ear. He opened his eyes once again, sitting up with a yawn. He was dazed, unsure of where he was. There was one thing he noted.

"Wow, I feel a lot better," he sighed, happily.

Indeed, compared to how he woke up at first he felt a lot more energized. His body still felt heavy but not by much.

Ruffling his hair, he took in his new surroundings. To his relief he found himself sitting in some sort of garden of another castle. He sat on a patch of freshly cut grass by a miniature topiary version of the castle. All around the circular garden were larger than life topiaries trimmed to resemble animal figures playing band instruments. Beyond a hedge, he saw high arches leading into the castle with white walls and blue tipped towers.

He whistled appreciatively. This castle wasn't half bad. This was actually how he imagined one to look like-elegant in style, yet simple in taste. He would love to live in a castle like this.

The artist side of him wished he had his sketchbook. He was seeing all of these new places around the world he didn't know existed. Arty would love to see them. Caelum, too, if he didn't act so proud all the time. But, first, he had to find them. He wasn't entirely sure where he was either.

Although, where to start? This castle was huge. Would they even be here? And, what if he met those weirdos in the black coats again? They freaked him out too much already. Would the people here be better than those guys, or worse? Hopefully, they could provide him with a weapon. He hated being so defenseless without one. If everyone used a weapon except for him, he was in deep trouble.

"First things first. Find out where I am," Arun decided.

He stood up, brushing off the dirt from his baggy pants. He began to wander around the garden to find a way into the castle. Mostly, he got distracted by the topiaries and flowers around the garden. It took him awhile before he found a pathway leading to a door off to the side. Opening the door, he poked his head inside to see it was a corridor. He slipped through the door, careful to wipe his shoes before stepping onto the rich red carpet. He walked down it to go up a small flight of stairs, which angled to the left into another sun-lit corridor.

The corridor was large and wide with only one giant door in the hall to his right while high arched windows were on his left. It had a wonderful view of the garden from above. He walked to the ledge of one of the arches. Gazing down, he realized again this castle was huge. Could he really find anyone here on his own? And would they really help him?

Arun had to admit it. Being on his own like this in an unknown place was frightening. Sure, it was scary not knowing where he was, but he feared being alone like this the most. His entire life he had been on his own-forced to shoulder his problems and took care of himself. He could not trust anyone else to do that. Not even Arty or Caelum knew what he faced most of the time. Since he became friends with them a few years ago, he was often afraid of being completely alone. They were his friends, his family. Without them around he wasn't sure how he could get home. Nor did he think he could trust anyone after those guys in black.

_I'm never leaving my room again after this,_ he thought, absently tracing a heart with his finger on the cold alabaster stone. He was sure he would never leave Meryton period.

"Hey, what are you doing here?"

He was brought out of his thoughts by a boyish voice. Turning, he expected to find some kid around his age. His eyes widened when he saw a dog wearing red and black clothes almost similar to the ones he wore. He had shaggy black hair with two floppy ears and two buck teeth in his mouth. To his utmost surprise he was almost as tall as him as well as close in age.

Seeing a walking, talking dog in clothes, Arun couldn't help but stare. It wasn't every day he saw such a thing. Then, he realized what he was doing and averted his eyes.

"Uh, sorry. I got a little lost. I woke up in the gardens over there," Arun said, gesturing to the lavish gardens out the window. "Do you think you can show me the way out?"

The dog eyed him suspiciously, a frown on his small snout. He folded his arms as if to intimidate him-a manner that reminded him oddly of Caelum.

"You woke up in the gardens? Seriously? You expect me to believe that when there are guards all over the place?" he asked, flatly. He scoffed. "Yeah, right. That's gotta be the lamest excuse a thief could give. What did you come here to steal?"

Arun's eye twitched. "Look, dude. I'm not a thief. I woke up in the gardens after entering some weird light in another weird empty place. Do I look like I could steal something in broad daylight?"

Certainly, he wasn't dressed in a way to sneak into a castle undetected. His armor would make too much noise, and if what the dog said was true, the guards would find him in no time at all. He wasn't some kind of ninja.

The dog seemed to think the same thing as well because he hummed. "True. You don't look like you're going to steal something."

"Thank you!" he exclaimed, startling the dog. Arun laughed sheepishly. "Sorry. I've had a bad day today. I almost got kidnapped by two guys in black cloaks. Then, I got stuck in some weird space after entering a black portal."

"Yeesh, that sucks," the dog said, sympathetically.

"Tell me about it."

"So, you really appeared in the gardens with no idea you would end up here?"

"Nope!"

"Well, that doesn't really make sense, but you don't look like you're lying, either," the dog admitted. "Hm...So, you only want to know the way out of here?"

Arun nodded.

The dog stared at him for a moment more before shrugging. "Alright. I'll buy it for now. You look pretty harmless. I'll show you the way out. But, I just got one question. Well, two, actually. Who are you and why were you almost kidnapped?"

"Oh! I'm Arun. I almost got kidnapped because..." He trailed off He didn't know the answer to that himself. He only mentioned a room to that Axel guy, who said he had information on what they wanted. That part he couldn't understand. What kind of information would they want from him? He came from a town by a river. What would he know that was so important to them? "To be honest I don't know. One guy decided I knew something they wanted and tried to take me to their boss or something."

"What did they want?" the dog asked, curiously.

Arun shrugged. He had no idea.

"Oh. At least you managed to get away through that weird portal you talked about. Come on, I'll show you the way out." He began to walk down the corridor but paused. He looked over his shoulder with a grin. "By the way, my name's Max."

Arun grinned back. "Nice to meet ya, Max."

"Right back at ya."

Max led Arun down the corridors through the castle, passing many rooms and some people who worked in the castle. Arun was surprised to see most of the castle's residents were mainly anamorphic animals like Max, who stood on two feet (How was that even possible?) and had jobs protecting the castle. Being the curious person he was, he asked Max more about the castle. Max explained he himself was a young knight in training along with his best friend, Pete Junior or PJ for short. He was helping to protect the castle, Disney Castle, from any sign of danger. What kind of danger, he didn't say. Arun was also surprised to see brooms with arms sprouting out the wood and yellow bristles for legs were waddling around the castle as if they were alive, carrying buckets of water. How could brooms do that? He asked Max and he only said, "Magic."

_Magic? Is he for real?_ Arun thought in disbelief. Magic wasn't real. It only existed in fairy tales and myths Arty was so fond of. It didn't exist in real life. Then again, neither did any of the things that happened to him. If that wasn't magic, then what could he call it? A hallucination? A dream? All he knew was turned upside by recent events. _Great! Next thing you know I'll find out other worlds do exist!_

After fifteen minutes or so, Max told him they were almost at the castle's entrance. Arun nodded in relief. Finally! He could leave this crazy place and forget all that's happened to him so far. Perhaps he could pass it off as a crazy dream. Hopefully, he could forget it altogether.

When they entered a new corridor (really, they all looked the same) they began to hear a strange whirring noise. The sound got louder and closer as if something was approaching them. They halted. Arun looked around in confusion. What was that sound?

"Max, what's that?" he asked.

Max seemed confused as well. He looked around as the noise began to grow louder and louder. Looking up, he gasped. "Holy-Duck!"

He grabbed Arun's arm, diving to the ground. Not a few seconds later, something flew over their heads. Whatever the thing was it crashed with an exclamation of surprise. Arun sat up to look behind him. His jaw dropped as he saw a hunk of metal with black smoke emerging from it by one of the castle walls. Machine parts of all kinds were scattered around the corridor. Out of the smoking mess, a figure crawled out covered in soot and oil to cough.

"That was some crazy ride! I should try that again and work on the landings," an accented voice said. The figure took off his goggles. Arun could see it was a duck of some sort by the bill and white feathered head brightly stood out from the black soot that surrounded his eyes. By the glasses and the ruined lab coat, he guessed the duck as a scientist. It looked towards the destroyed heap. "Well, after I fix it up a bit."

"Professor Von Drake, Queen Minnie told you to stop testing your inventions inside the castle," said Max, exasperated.

The duck turned towards them. He walked over to Max, who helped Arun stand up.

"Ah, hello, Max! Still training, are we? Are you still trying to be like your papa, Goofy?" the duck greeted. He soon noticed Arun. Fixing his glasses, he peered closer at him. "Who's this young man? I don't suppose he's training as well? Oh, kids, these days. You're all so eager to do your duty. Back in my day, all we wanted to do was shake our tail feathers."

He shook his bottom and laughed. Arun stared at the duck.

_What's with this crazy place?_

Max shook his head in disbelief. "Yes, Professor. I'm still training. No, he's not here to become a knight. His name's Arun. He got lost in the castle and wants to find the way out." He turned to Arun. "This is Prof. Ludwig Von Drake. He's the castle's main scientist. He invents stuff that could benefit the people living here."

"Among other things! I am also a psychologist, an anthropologist, a bioengineer, the list goes on and on!" Professor Von Drake boasted, heartily.

"He's also a bit senile," Max added in a low whisper. "He comes up with the craziest inventions. Sometimes, they work like the time he used meteors to make the worlds' first Gummi ship, but other times they backfire on him. We pretend to think he could be normal because he's a genius."

"Gummi ship?" Arun questioned. The strange word caught his attention. Was he talking about candy?

"The ships most people use to travel from world to world. It's one of the safer ways to travel if you don't run into Heartless."

"Worlds? You mean town to town, right?"

"No, I know what I said."

"But, other worlds don't exist."

"Of course they do! There are hundreds-no, _millions_ of worlds up there in space!" the Professor explained. He pointed at the ceiling. "Those itty-bitty stars in the sky are all kinds of different worlds where a lot of people live. Each world has a heart so pure like the light and it's the only way they can exist. Most worlds disappear because those confounded Heartless take their hearts. I'm actually working on an invention that will make some places safe. The Heartless will fry like those bug zappers if they're exposed to light. Ooh, I should call it the Heartless zapper!"

The professor scurried over to his destroyed invention to take out a semi-blackened pad of paper to write something down.

"Wow, you weren't kidding when you said he's senile," Arun remarked. He shook his head. "And here I thought Arty was smart but insane. I guess I was wrong."

"That's one thing he isn't crazy about. Other worlds _do_ exist. Everyone knows they do. It's basic knowledge unless..." Max stared at him strangely. "Are you from another world?"

"No, I come from a town called Meryton. Go look on a map. You'll find it by the Gale River," he said, refusing to believe a word they said.

"Arun." Something in Max's voice caused Arun to look at him. Max was frowning suspiciously. "On our maps, there's no such place as Meryton or a Gale river. There's only Disney Town."

"Wh-What? That's impossible!" Arun wanted to believe Max was playing a joke on him just to be mean. It had to be. But, something told him he wasn't. After all, the things he's been through shouldn't have been possible. Maybe...Maybe he was wrong? Light, darkness, those weird guys in black, this castle, talking animals...He's never seen or heard of anything like this back home. There were no such stories or facts. Arty would have told him so. Was he really in a different world? He put a hand on his head, feeling a headache coming on. "I don't understand. How could there be other worlds? How did I even get here?"

"Most places worlds don't know there are other worlds out there. The one way you could have gotten here is if you..." Max drifted off, staring into space in thought. He seemed as if he was really thinking about it. Arun was about to ask what he was thinking when he heard a crash.

"Whoops! Shouldn't have done that," the professor said. His machines, which looked like some flying prototype, was falling apart. One of the non-blackened metal plates fell to the ground to reveal the wired innards. The professor bent down to pick it up. All he could do was get lift it an inch off the ground. "Excuse me, could one of you boys give me a hand here?"

"Uh, sure." Arun walked over to the professor and the metal plate. Bending down, he grabbed a hold of the edge next to the professor's feathered hands (were they hands?). He counted to three and the two heaved the metal plate to lean against the worlds. Arun's arms shook from the effort as he heaved it up, grunting at the effort. He could normally lift things easily from working in the shipyard next to the river. He had better strength than this. He couldn't understand what was going on.?

That is until he looked up and saw the truth.

Arun lifted his head from where he was hunched over, catching his breath. His eyes traveled up from the bottom of the metal plate, slick with oil, to go higher and higher. The metal plate went from black as it got higher to the shiny gray surface like a grained mirror until his eyes were leveled.

He expected to see his spiky black hair framing a youthful face on the verge of adulthood, molten eyes giving him a more mature look. What he saw instead were blue eyes the color of the sky on a cute, boyish face with a bit of baby fat on his cheeks. Dirty blond bangs were swept to the right as it became spiky, reaching the sky. It was as if the very wind swept his hair upwards or he lay on his right side where his hair became a permanent bed-head.

He gasped sharply. What the...? He reached a hand up to his face as the boy in the reflection did the same. The boy's eyes were wide in horror, his mouth gaping open. He stumbled back in shock.

"No...No way!" Arun fell to the ground, his knees giving out. He was unable to take his eyes off the boy with windswept hair.

"Hm? Are you okay, sonny? You look like you've seen a ghost," Professor Von Drake said. His eyes wandered to the metal plate and the reflection. "What? Is something wrong with this plate? I was planning on using it to melt down a new door for my room. The wood is bad material for most of my inventions. They're good firewood for the winter, though. Warms me right up."

"Arun, is something the matter?" asked Max, kneeling to one knee by his side. He sounded worried.

Max's voice snapped him out of his daze. Arun turned to him. He was full of confusion, shock, and fear, so shocked he spent half a minute with his mouth hanging open. Finally, he swallowed.

"Max," he said, almost gasping, "what do I look like to you?"

Max blinked.

"Sorry, what?"

"I said, what do I look like to you? My age, my height, anything!"

"Oh, um, you look like you're fourteen, maybe fifteen. You've got blond hair, blond eyes. You're pretty thin, but I can tell you're a fighter." He froze upon seeing Arun's darkening expression. "That's not what you wanted to hear, was it?"

"Not really." Arun groaned, putting his hands on his face. He felt like he was about to break down from the number of surprises smacking him in the face. In fact, his head was already pounding.

"What did I say wrong? Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you or anything," Max began, apologetic. He was interrupted by Arun lifting his hand in a stop motion.

"No, you didn't say anything wrong. You confirmed something I needed to know."

"Which is?"

"That I'm...not in my body at all."

"Huh?"

"I don't look like this." He waved a hand down at his small and thin body. "I'm sixteen, black haired, gold-eyed, and I'm not cute. I'm handsome."

"If you look like what you described, how are you like that?" Max asked, incredulous.

"I don't know! After some weird black ants attacked Meryton and one of them got me, I woke up in some room in a castle!"

"Black ants? Did they have yellow eyes and could sink into the ground like shadows?"

"Yeah. Wait, how do you know what they looked like?" It was Arun's turn to be alarmed. He didn't say anything about what they could do.

"Hm, sounds like your world was invaded by the Heartless," Professor Von Drake observed. He was speaking as he was picking through his machine for usable parts.

"Heartless?" Arun asked.

"They're the creatures that attacked your home," Max briefly explained.

"But, why? Why would they attack my home? What's this got to do with me being here and in a different body?" Arun demanded. He wanted to understand why all of this had happened. He wanted to know what was going on and how he could fix this. Was there even a solution to this? And why was this happening to _him?_

Max swallowed. "I think...You need to have some things explained to you."

Arun tilted his head to the side in confusion. What did that mean? Max reached a hand up to pull Arun to his feet, then dragged him back down the corridor where they came from.

"Hey! Where are you taking me?" Arun protested, trying hard not to squirm.

"To Queen Minnie. She'll explain things to you that you need to know," he answered, taking a right.

Arun said nothing more. He wasn't sure what Max meant by that. However, he was more than willing to listen. After the crazy day he's had, he needed to find out what was going on and why he looked the way he did. Hopefully, this 'Queen Minnie' could explain it to him.

* * *

xxx

* * *

_Or not._

Arun stared in disbelief at the young mouse dressed in a pink gown seated across from him at a circular table. She was daintily drinking from a teacup much like a real queen would. This was Queen Minnie Mouse of Disney Castle. She just explained the whole situation to him and it did _not_ make a lick of sense.

Max brought him straight to Queen Minnie and her lady attendant, Lady Daisy Duck, who were having their afternoon tea in a garden (not the one Arun woke up in). They were surprised to see him at first (and he swore he saw shock in the young queen's face), then relaxed when Max explained his situation. The queen then appeared sad and tired, and invited them to sit down.

While he was busy being served tea and finger sandwiches by penguins wearing bow ties (as if that wasn't strange enough, though, the bow ties were cool), Arun listened to Queen Minnie spin a tale of a war of balance between the light and darkness.

Apparently, like Professor Von Drake said, there were many worlds in the universe that served as a haven of light for people to live in. There were dark creatures called Heartless that wanted to upset the balance in their favor. They did this by appearing in a world and swallowed the world's heart-its light- to send it, along with its inhabitants, into the darkness.

He nearly choked when he heard this. If that was true, then that meant his world and everyone on it were...! Arun felt like throwing up his food at the thought of Arty and Caelum being gone. No...They couldn't be gone. Not like that. He wanted to believe she was lying and he was simply dreaming, but he knew he wasn't. Everything around him felt all too real. To his relief she mentioned how some people were not lost to the darkness and would end up in another world much like him. This was good news. That meant there was a chance they were still alive. Then, there was the chance they weren't.

_Caelum's right. I'm a pessimist._

"So, let me get this straight," Arun said for the first time since the explanation started. "My world is gone because some creatures of the dark had the mega munchies for hearts and let it fall into the dark? And there's the slight chance some people survived."

"When you put it that way it sounds stupid," Max snorted into his teacup. He couldn't stop grinning at his choice of words. "Dude, what are you, ten? Who says mega munchies when they're talking about the Heartless?"

"I do. So, shut up."

"Now, now. I know it sounds like a child's tale, but what I've told you is true," Queen Minnie said gently in her high squeaky voice. "The Heartless have been a constant problem for all the worlds for a long time. Many worlds, like your own, have disappeared because of them."

"But, I find it kind of strange," said Lady Daisy as she poured another cup of tea for herself. "All of the worlds should have come back after his Majesty, Goofy, Donald, and the Keyblade Master sealed away most of the Heartless. Why didn't you return to your world after? And lately, none of the worlds have been reported to have disappeared."

"Huh. That's a good question. Why is it he hasn't returned to his world?" Max pondered.

"I have a better question. Why am I in a body that's not even mine!?" Arun exclaimed, gesturing to the foreign body he was currently occupying.

Queen Minnie nodded. "Yes, that's the more urgent issue. We must figure out why you are not in a body that you claim is not your own. I've never heard of a case like this before."

Arun groaned. Great. Something he didn't need to hear. He sank down onto the table, covering his head with his arms. "So, there's nothing you can do to figure out why I look as I do."

He felt a hand touch his own on his hand. Peeking up, he saw the queen smile at him sympathetically.

"That's not true. I may not be much help, but we know others who might. Max, do you remember Merlin in Hollow Bastion?" she asked.

"I remember Merlin, not Hollow Bastion. You'd probably have to ask Chip and Dale," he answered.

"Oh, that won't be necessary. I have a request for you. Can you escort Arun to Hollow Bastion to meet with Merlin?"

Arun nearly laughed when Max spluttered in his tea. He set down the cup and started coughing violently.

"M-Me? Why me?" he stuttered after he calmed down.

"You're the only one available to travel out of the world. Queen Minnie can't go and I'm not familiar with the Gummi ship system like you are," Lady Daisy explained. "Really, you're our only choice."

"But, what about my dad? What if he comes home while I'm gone?"

"Don't worry. This escort won't take very long. If Goofy does come home while you're gone, we'll call you immediately," the queen reassured him.

Arun stayed silent. He was guessing this Goofy was Max's father, but he wasn't sure why Max would be upset. It was a personal issue, so he wasn't going to ask.

Max stared down at his teacup, appearing to debate with himself. Arun straightened himself up to continue nibbling on the sandwiches. Even though he was having the shock of his life, that didn't mean he wasn't hungry. Arty said if the world was ending, he would still find the time to eat. That wasn't necessarily true but it was close.

"Alright, I'll do it," Max decided.

"Took you long enough," said Arun, finishing off his fifth sandwich. "So, I'm guessing Hollow Bastion is another world."

"Yes. It used to be the domain of the Heartless. Don't worry. After last year, there aren't any problems with the Heartless there anymore," Queen Minnie added after seeing his worried expression. "There are people there who will surely help you with your problem."

He nodded, although he wasn't entirely reassured.

Now that there was a plan Queen Minnie instructed Max and Arun to leave as soon as possible. What happened in preparation to leave was all but a blur for Arun. All he truly remembered was being given some supplies for the trip and some last minute advice such as avoid any conflict with the Heartless if possible and to take a bath at least three times a week (typical mom advice). Before he knew it, he was pushed into a strange ship made up of colorful blocks like a child made it. The inside was another story as it looked like a space-age cockpit he read only sci-fi novels. There was a countdown and they were soon blasting off into space.

Little did they know they would soon be pulled in adventure, discovery, and many obstacles to overcome.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I don't do notes here at the bottom for this story, but I have a major request. Most of this story won't follow the Kingdom Hearts 2 game storyline as they're going to have their own adventure. As such they're going to different Disney worlds. I need a little help. I don't know what should be their first world. I've already got Treasure Planet, The Rescuers, Robin Hood, and The Great Mouse Detective lined up. So, I'm not sure what other Disney movie they could go to first. Please, give me advice?
> 
> Oh, and I'll be putting random Disney facts I found interesting while doing some research.
> 
> Disney Facts
> 
> Max Goof: He is the son of Goofy, which is strange unto itself since the other child Disney characters like Huey, Dewey, and Louie are Donald's nephews. In most of his appearances, Max is the only Disney character who has aged with each appearance. At his first appearance in Goof Troop he was 11 years old. By Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas, Max was already an adult. He's virtually the only Disney character who has physically aged.


	4. Bitter Reunion

_He stood in the middle of a barren wasteland. As far as the eye could see the terrain was rocky without a hint of growing life anywhere. The sky above was a dark and stormy grey, parting for nothing but a moon in the shape of a heart. He was covered in black armor from head to toe with the exception of his helmet, which he lost earlier during his fall. In his hand was a sword vaguely reminiscent of a key with a reverse guard. He glared down at his opponent-a boy dressed in a skin tight body suit with a helmet masking his identity. The boy was on his knees after he was defeated in battle. A dark aura began to surround him._

_"You've done it, - - -," the boy said as if satisfied with his defeat. The boy's own key weapon vanished from his hand. As he rose to his feet, his mask began to dissolve to reveal a young boyish face. His spiky black hair was as dark as his heart while golden eyes were a startling cold gold. The boy's smirk spoke of his cruelty and hatred for him. "Now that my body is about to perish you and I will have to join together. The_ x _-blade will be forged!"_

_The darkness around the boy pulsed with a wave of energy. It slithered toward him from the boy. Out of the darkness were strange blue creatures resembling mice shootout and took hold of him. He gasped both out of surprise and panic. He struggled, their tiny arms holding him in place, as he realized something._

"The Unversed...come from you?"

_That is what he meant to say, but he could not hear his own voice._

_The boy laughed, devoid of true amusement. "It happened when you and I split into two. The negativity took shape as those monsters. They are what I feel-a horde of emotions under my control. I released them in all of the worlds I could, hoping to lure you away from home and isolate you from your master. We needed to make you stronger. The Unversed were the perfect opponents. And better yet, no matter how many times you defeat them their negativity flows right back into me. You never stood a chance against us, - - -."_

_He had the small impression the boy was saying his name as his lips moved at the end. However, he never heard it._

_The boy walked towards him. Panic seized him and he curiously began to struggle against the strange creatures to no avail. The boy touched his face, and a bright light surrounded him. Pressure built inside of his chest close to his heart. It felt like it was exploding and ready to burst. He screamed at the agony of a simple touch. Too much, too much-_

"Arun!"

Arun snapped his eyes open as he felt a hand violently shake his shoulder. He looked up at Max's face, his black eyes staring down at him in concern.

"Hey, are you okay? Looked like you were having a nightmare," he said.

Arun realized his breath was heavy and he sighed to control it. Lifting his hand to his forehead, he found it slick with sweat. He closed his eyes, remembering he was on a Gummi ship in space, not a battlefield in the middle of a wasteland.

"Fine. Just fine," he muttered, trying to hide the shaking in his voice. He shook his head and yawned to hide it. "Did I fall asleep?"

"Yeah. We're at Hollow Bastion already." Max stepped back to go towards the control panel filled with buttons and levers Arun had no knowledge of what each did. He pressed a few buttons, grinning. "Did you know you talk in your sleep? You were saying stuff like unversed, mice, and something like keyblade."

Arun resisted the urge to correct him (it was _x_ -blade). He wasn't sure what a _x_ -blade was. He brought his hand down and stared at it. He remembered the giant key sword and how it felt so familiar in his hand. He flexed his fingers, acting as if he wanted to feel the weapon in his grasp.

_Keyblade...I wonder what it is._

He shook his head of that thought. Where did that come from? Was that the name of the strange weapon?

_I'm going crazy. I'm making up names for weapons I've never seen._

"I usually don't talk in my sleep," he answered. Arun stood up and walked over to the blast shield. He was amazed to see a large planet with what looked to be a castle and a surrounding town. The sky was a perpetual purple-blue like a sun on the verge of setting. "Wow. Do worlds usually look like this?"

"It depends on the world." Max finished his button pushing. He walked over to a circular pad near the back of the cockpit where a panel of controls stood close by. "Come on. We should get down there."

"You're not landing?"

"Too suspicious. Most worlds don't know about other worlds. You know, the whole world order thing. Hollow Bastion has people from other worlds living there, but better safe than sorry."

"Then, how are we getting down there?"

"We're going to teleport down." He pointed at the circular pad he was standing on.

Arun frowned. That thing was going to get them down to the world? He wasn't sure he understood. Regardless, he stepped onto the circle pad next to Max. Max then pushed a button on a remote control he held in one hand. Arun heard a whirring sound come from the machine. Looking down, he saw it lighting up under their feet as a strange tingling sensation spread from his toes to the top of his head. He blinked once and suddenly found his surroundings had changed.

From the cold steel walls of the Gummi ship to brick walls of homes, he found they were standing in some kind of alleyway behind a stone building. The alley was dark and damp. Nearby, the sound of children and chatter floated over to them. Arun was very confused. And strangely numb.

"Why can't I feel my fingers?" he asked, panicked.

"Yeah, that happens sometimes. It'll go away in a few minutes," said Max. He pocketed the remote control in one of his pouches. He walked to the mouth of the alley with Arun right behind him.

They walked out to see the center of a plaza. Many people were around with various shops to look at. Some were shopping while others were milling about, chatting with friends on the street. Max looked over his shoulder to see Arun's gaping mouth.

"Arun, welcome to Hollow Bastion."

Arun stared at the scene before him. The reality of it all finally hit him. He was in another world of his own free will. He wasn't at home dreaming about all of this. This was real. And, even though he was in a different body, he found this all...exciting. He always dreamed of getting out of Meryton to go travel around and see new things. Granted, he thought it wouldn't involve leaving his home world. He had the chance to see-no, _experience_ new things.

There was no way he was letting this chance slip by.

Arun slipped past Max to head for the shops and stalls, examining everything they had on sale. One shop had armor like the sort knights in fairy tales wore and another shop sold steel weapons of all varieties. It was almost surreal to watch people buy them as if they were regular supplies they needed in their daily lives. This was both interesting and disturbing. Was the Heartless danger so prominent that they needed these weapons?

He couldn't look at anything for long as Max tapped his shoulder. He allowed himself to be pulled away or else he would start longing for things he couldn't afford.

"Aw, I wanted to look more," he whined, following Max away from the market plaza. They headed for a stairway leading down to the residential houses.

"You can look later. Besides, do you even have Munny?" Max asked.

"I'm in a different body. I doubt my wallet would follow me wherever I go," he replied.

"Hey, you never know. Did you check your pockets?"

Arun shrugged. He didn't think to check his new pockets. While Max tried to figure out where they were going, he dug his hands into his pockets and pouches. He brought out whatever his fingers touched. Out of his pockets, he found several rings and accessories, which pulsed with a strange energy, some small bottles filled with a strange green liquid, blue and yellow colored bills, a plastic card saying it was a passport to Disney Town, and other odd things.

 _How are there so many things?_ he wondered. He put back some shards he found in his pocket. Then, he pulled out some key chains out of another pouch. He held up the bunch of key chains up at eye level with a raised eyebrow. What the heck? Was the owner of this body an obsessive freak? Who kept that many key chains on him and without any keys? Still, the key chains were interesting. There was one that oddly had a medallion of the Disney Town symbol on it and another holding a red heart with an angel wing attached. _Whoever this body belongs to must really be a weirdo._

Still, he could not help but admire one of the key chains-one with three gears arranged in an S. It was pretty cool.

"Hm...I think Merlin's is this way," Max muttered, looking around. He nodded at some stairs nearby leading down.

"Whatever you say. Lead the way!" Arun exclaimed, exuberantly.

Max did so, taking a step down to go down the flight of stairs. Arun made to follow him down, but a voice from behind made him stop.

"Laddie! Wait a moment!" called an accented voice. By the sound of it, it was an old man.

Arun and Max turned around. For some reason a duck wearing a fine royal blue jacket and a black top hat on his head. He was walking with a cane. Yet, what they found odd was when the duck stopped a few paces away from them, bending down to pick up something on the floor. Straightening, he waved his hand at Arun.

"You dropped this, young man," he said. He held out a strange green star-shaped charm with a leather cord on it to act as a necklace. It looked nothing special other than the nice craftsmanship on it. But, the very sight of it made Arun's heart pulse.

"Is it?" he asked.

"Aye. It fell out of your pocket just now. You should keep a closer eye on your belongings."

Arun nodded. He stepped forward and took the charm out of his hand. Holding it in his own, he looked down at it. It really was nice. He felt that if he lost this charm he wouldn't know what to do. Why he was having this feeling, he wasn't sure. What he _was_ sure of was how the owner of the body he occupied wouldn't be happy if he lost his things.

"Thank you," he said, sincerely.

"Mr. McDuck," Max said, stepping next to Arun. "I didn't I know you came here to Hollow Bastion."

The duck looked at Max as if noticing him for the first time. When he did he became much more cheerful and friendly.

"Well, if it isn't Max Goof!" he exclaimed, sincerely happy. "I didn't expect to see you here, lad. If I may ask, what are you doing here? I thought you were waiting for your father back at the castle?"

"I was, but I'm running an errand for Queen Minnie. I have to take Arun here to see Merlin about a problem he has," Max answered. He gestured over to Arun, who was being silent out of politeness. "This is Arun. Arun, this is-"

"Scrooge McDuck! Nice to meet you, lad." He grabbed Arun's hand and shook it once before letting go.

"Nice to meet you, too, Mr. McDuck," Arun replied. "So, I'm guessing you're a resident of Disney Town?"

"Hehe, that's right! The richest there is! Well, second richest if you don't count their Majesties, King Mickey and Queen Minnie."

He let out a jolly laugh, making Arun frown.

 _So not modest,_ Arun thought. He sighed. _Rich people._

"What are you doing here in Hollow Bastion?"

"Business," Scrooge said, plain and simple. "I plan on opening an ice cream shop like the one my great nephews opened a few years ago. Their business was booming! They really take after me, those boys. I figured it would be good to open a shop here now that most of the heartless are gone."

"Is it a good idea to be opening a shop here? I heard Heartless sometimes attack public areas," said Max, slightly worried.

He waved it off with the cane in his hand. "Tain't any worry of mine. Since the town got renovated, the Heartless won't attack unless they'd like a good smack into a wall. If the Heartless aren't attacking, people will move here without feeling afraid. And you know what that means. More business for me! Who cares if the Heartless attack? A little danger and adventure is good for the soul. After all, adventure is the mother of industry!"

Arun was slightly impressed. Now here was a business man who would do anything to get his hands on money regardless of the danger. In his eyes that was impressive. People might call that greed, but who cared? Money made the worlds go 'round!

"Bah! Look at me rambling on," Scrooge said suddenly. "I'm wasting time here talkin' like this. Time is money. And you boys've got a meeting with Merlin. Tell that old wizard hi for me, will ya, boys?"

"Yes, Mr. McDuck," Max and Arun chimed neutrally.

"Alright then! Best be goin' now. Next time you're around drop by my shop. I'll have recreated my childhood ice cream flavor by then just like I remember it." He tipped his hat to the boys before walking off towards the large white shop, which resembled a giant freezer.

Once he was out of earshot, Arun whistled.

"Wow. Talk about ambitious. Guy loves his money."

"Yeah, that's Scrooge McDuck for ya. The richest, cheapest, greediest person you can ever meet in your life," Max said with a shake of his head.

Arun sensed the distaste in his voice as he described Scrooge McDuck. "How rich is he?"

"Rich enough he has a huge vault of gold the size of a building and he swims in it. Regularly."

"Huh? How can you swim in gold? Gold's a metal. Wouldn't it hurt?"

Max shrugged. "I have no idea. He's swimming in gold. I guess he's rich enough the gold feels like water to him. Really bright and hard water."

Arun stared, now slightly envious. Damn. If Scrooge was rich enough to do that, then he was richer than he could imagine. Hell, the only way he could ever swim in gold is in his dreams. Being who he was, it would _never_ happen.

"Anyway, we should get going to Merlin's. I think it's this way." Max pointed down the stairs.

"Right."

This time the two set off down the stairs with no interruptions. Reaching the landing, he and Max started wandering through the streets. He silently appreciated how some of the houses were made out of stone and the streets paved with cobblestone. The whole place was like something out of a fairytale complete with a castle in the center of town. He frowned at the dark castle looming off in the distance. It stood like a dark shadow ready to devour the light. The castle must have been beautiful once upon a time. From what was left of it, he could see the stained windows and the intricate stone statues serving as ever-present guardians. Yet, the castle was but a former shell of its magnificence to rot in broken pieces. Pipes lined all over and it looked as if under construction. Indeed, there were many holes in its skeleton. It was sad to look at, really.

They soon come to one of the back streets leading to another section of town. It was a small street with stairs nearby to head to the upper walls protecting the town from outside forces. Max paused and looked down at a cell phone.

"Let's see...Merlin's house should be right around..." He looked up at a wooden door on the left. The only door in sight, to be exact. "There."

"This is where Merlin lives?" Arun asked, scrutinizing such an ordinary door.

"Yeah. From what I can tell."

"Then, let's go!" He bounced over to the door. He was more than ready to figure out what he could do to fix his problem. All of this was too strange. He reached a fist up to knock on the door when it opened on its own.

"Jeez, keep your pants on, old man. I'll go get your stupid parts," said a young girl in the doorway. She had short black hair and matching eyes. Arun couldn't help but notice how she was wearing short and tight clothes that revealed _a lot_ of skin. She had to be a few years older than him. She looked straight at Arun, pausing before they ran into one another. "Oh, hi, there. What d'ya need?"

"Ah, um..." Arun stuttered. He was caught off guard by how cute this girl was. He normally wasn't like this, but he certainly didn't expect to run into her. "Is-Is-Um, does Merlin live here?"

"Hm? 'Course he does. Is there something you need from him?"

"Yeah, we need help with something," said Max, coming up behind Arun.

The girl tilted her head to the side. Arun fidgeted when she eyed the two closely, even learning into look closer. The girl was cute but didn't seem to know the meaning of personal space. Then, she stepped to the side.

"Go on in. Sorry, but I've got something to do."

The girl squeezed past Arun and ran in the direction of the market plaza. Max saw him staring at the girl and rolled his eyes.

"Come on. Quit making googly eyes," he teased. He grabbed his elbow and dragged him into the cottage.

The house was quite smaller than Arun would have liked. That might have had to do with all the books piled up around the single room and the stone platform in the middle of the room, holding a table and a few mismatched chairs. A huge and complicated computer was pushed against the wall opposite the entrance door. A man with blond hair sat in front of the computer typing away as he muttered to himself. At the table was an old man with a long white beard and wore strange blue robes. They looked more like a dress on him. Both stopped what they were doing to see the new visitors. Max waved over at the old man in the blue robes.

"Hey, Merlin. Long time no see," he greeted.

The old man, Merlin, smiled. He stood and stepped towards them.

"Ah, I knew I would be having visitors today. Hello, Maximilian. How are you? I haven't seen you in quite some time," Merlin greeted. He glanced at Arun, adjusting his glasses on his nose. "And who would this young man be?"

"Hi, I'm Arun," he said, bowing his head more out of an obligation to be polite than respect.

"A pleasure to meet you. I am the great wizard, Merlin. Now, what brings you boys here?"

"We have a small problem Arun needs help with," Max said. He slipped an arm around Arun's shoulder. "This guy's not in the right body."

The man by the computer was taking a sip of ice tea but spit it out in surprise. He began to cough violently.

"Cid, must you do that?" Merlin sighed.

"It's not like I meant to! Caught me off guard," coughed the man.

Merlin waved a hand. Arun gasped when he produced a handkerchief out of nowhere to hand it to the man. He opened his mouth to ask how he did that, then closed it. Everything was already crazy. It would be best not to question it to keep the rest of his sanity intact.

"Now, Max. Would you care to explain what you meant by that?" Merlin asked, patiently.

Max nodded. "I know it sounds crazy, but hear us out. Arun appeared in Disney Castle after he entered a portal..."

He went on to explain Arun's situation from the very start where he lost his home world and eventually discovered his new problem of being in a different body from his own. Arun interjected every now and then to add a few extra details such as the castle he woke up in and the strange men he met. The other man Merlin introduced as Cid gasped.

"What?! You met those cloaked freaks?" he demanded.

"You know them?" Arun asked, surprised.

"Know them? Them and their Nobodies've been causing trouble since they showed up!"

"Nobodies?" Max asked. Neither of them had heard that term before.

"Yes. They are creatures created when a person with a strong will becomes a Heartless," Merlin explained. "They leave behind their body, which becomes an empty shell. A few of the strong, higher-ranked Nobodies have formed their own group called Organization XIII. No one is sure what their true objectives are, however. So far, they've only been causing trouble for several worlds."

"So, those guys I met were part of that organization?" Arun wondered.

"Quite possibly. But, you should not be worrying about them right now. We must focus on your different body situation."

Merlin took a seat once more at the table as a cup of tea and saucer floated to him. He took a sip. "Now, when did you realize you might be in a different body from your own?"

"When I heard how high my voice was." Max burst out laughing and Arun glared at him. "It's not funny! My voice cracked when I was thirteen! I'm freaking out here! I feel like I haven't hit puberty yet. It sucks."

"Right. Sorry." Yet, Max didn't stop laughing.

"Can you tell us what you looked like in your original body and what happened prior to your awakening?" Merlin intervened, seeing the glare in Arun's eyes that promised much pain for Max.

"I'm sixteen, about this tall," he held up a hand to his forehead, "spiky black hair, gold eyes. I don't remember much before I got like this. I _do_ remember some black ants-I mean, Heartless were attacking my home world. A Heartless tried to attack my friend, so I jumped in to take the hit. After that, all I can remember was darkness."

He winced, remembering the ripping sensation in his chest. His hand went up to his heart, rubbing it.

Merlin and Cid, who had long since become interested in Arun's story, exchanged a look.

"Did it feel as if something was being ripped out when the Heartless attacked?" Merlin asked, grave.

Arun blinked. "Yeah. How did you know?"

Before Merlin could answer, the door to the cottage opened. Laughter and chatter drifted into the room.

"I can't believe the Claymore knocked that Nobody into a wall," laughed a young girlish voice. It sounded oddly familiar to Arun, somehow.

"You would think they would be much smarter than that," said an older boy. This one was far too familiar for Arun to forget.

Arun turned around to the door. His eyes widened when he saw a young girl with auburn hair and green-grey eyes. Right behind her was a boy near his age with short white hair that darkened to a deep red towards the tips, dark red eyes crinkled in amusement. Both were smiling as they entered, each carrying brown bags full of groceries.

"Cid, Merlin, we're back!" the girl announced. Then, she caught sight of Arun and Max. "Oh, we have visitors?"

"Yes. This is Max and Arun. Boys, this is Caelum and-" Merlin began to introduce. However, Arun interrupted him.

"Arty? Caelum!" He stared at his two dearest (though he would never admit it to one of them) and closest friends, both of whom looked so grown up. He felt like a child in comparison to them. He would recognize them easily, though Arty's hair was somewhat shorter and Caelum was taller. Upon seeing them, a huge weight lifted off his chest. He started to smile in relief. "Wow...I'm so glad you guys are alright. I thought the Heartless got you."

"Who are you?" Arty asked in confusion, her brow wrinkled. "Sorry if I'm a little rude, but how do you know my name?"

His smile faded. What did she mean by that? She knew him for a better part of five years! Couldn't she tell it was him? Then, he remembered he didn't look the same. He was in a different body, which meant neither Arty or Caelum reacted to his name.

"Arty, you might not recognize me, but it's me, Arun. From Meryton," he added as an afterthought.

"Arun...?" Arty tensed. She gripped her bag tighter. "Where did you learn that name?"

"It's my name! Arty, it's _me._ That spiky black-haired kid who got into trouble a lot and stayed up late eating weird things before bed! Aren't you glad to see me?"

To his horror Arty's eyes filled with tears. He thought she would call him a jerk and start to hug him for worrying her. However, she narrowed her eyes, her tears trailing down her flushing cheeks.

"Is this some kind of sick joke?" she demanded. She slammed her groceries on a nearby table and never broke eye-contact. Unspeakable pain and hatred for _him_ dimmed the light in her eyes that Arun so often admired. "Because if it is, you need new information, pal."

"But, I _am_ Arun! You've gotta believe me! What's wrong with you? Why aren't you happy to see me?"

She let out a bitter bark of laughter.

"Happy? Why should I be? How can I be happy when the guy you're poorly impersonating has been dead for an entire _year?!_ "

The world slowed to a halt as Arun stared at her in shock. Dead? A _year?_ What was she talking about?

"A year? Dead? But, I'm not dead! I'm here and alive!" Arun exclaimed, desperate.

"No, you're not! Because you're not Arun." Her voice cracked upon saying his name.

Her emotions were getting the better of her, Arun noticed. Arty sobbed once before running back out of the door.

Arun didn't know what to say, a stone settling at the pit of his stomach the moment he saw her begin to sob. He could never take Arty's tears well. She was far too sensitive for his tastes, so she would be offended by the smallest thing he said wrong. But, what did he say wrong this time? He was telling her he was back. Why wasn't she happy? He understood he was in a different body, but she should have seen he was telling the truth...Right?

_Arty..._

He almost wanted to cry himself. The hatred in her eyes pounded into him the moment he saw it. He's never seen that kind of look on Arty and certainly not towards him. All he ever saw was the kindness and occasional irritation. That sort of look reminded him of the ones he gained during childhood from everyone else. It didn't suit her at all. And he would be lying if he didn't say it stung to see that kind of look in her more-often-than-not kind eyes.

"What was that about? What did she mean Arun's been dead for a year?" Max asked, utterly confused. 

Caelum sighed in frustration as he set down his groceries next to Arty's.

"Damn it. I thought she was over him already," he said. He leaned against the edge of the table, putting a hand to his forehead. He looked utterly exhausted and frustrated. "Our friend, Arun, died the night our world Meryton was taken by the Heartless over a year ago. His heart was taken when he tried to protect her. When we arrived in a world called Traverse Town right after our world vanished we found out the truth of what happened to him. Arty never got over it."

"I'm not dead! I'm alive!" Arun argued, refusing to believe this. He wouldn't put it past Caelum to lie to him.

"Yeah, sure you are. I don't know where you learned that name or why you wanted to use it. There's no benefit in using that name unless you're after a date. And let me tell you now. You're not getting points for that."

"But, I'm really-Wait, why would I be after a date? You mean with _Arty?_ " His distress was temporarily replaced by disbelief. Why would he want a date with her? He admitted she looked a bit cuter now-Wait, no! Arty wasn't cute at all! Not in _that_ way. For him, at least. "Why would I want to date that wrench head? She'd rather fawn over some new invention than go on a date with a guy. Hell, she'd even go on a date with an android than some boy!"

Cid laughed jubilantly. "Ain't that right! I've seen that girl squeal over my Gummi ship than a boy!"

"Yeah. Once, she took apart my guitar to use the strings in some invention she was making. While she was working on it, she got a love letter from a guy in her class. She used it to clean up some oil without ever reading it!" He rolled his eyes. Arty was a brilliant engineer, but she was so oblivious to the real world. Sometimes, he thought her world were her inventions and research.

Caelum tensed, eyeing him suspiciously.

"Do you remember the time Arty first told us what her name was short for?" he asked, casually.

"Do I ever! She was totally nervous and looked like she was about to throw up. All she kept saying before she told us was to not make fun of her. And her name's not even that bad compared to mine! She acts like it's a curse to have the name her parents decided on."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Wait a minute. Are you tellin' me Arty ain't her real name?" Cid asked, astonished.

"Hell no! Arty's short for her full name. While her nickname sounds like a guy's, her actual name is really girly. I don't know why she doesn't like it," Arun wondered. He always liked Arty's name. It suited her despite her protests against it.

"Then, what is her name?" Merlin asked, who was also curious about the name.

Arun opened his mouth to say it, but then closed it. "Sorry. Arty made me and Caelum swear to never tell anyone unless we wanted an arrow sticking out of us with our name on'em."

_Thunk!_

Everyone stared at Caelum, who was on the floor and rubbing the back of his head. He had slipped off the desk, the back of his head hitting the edge. Arun hid his mouth behind his hand. Caelum was rarely clumsy, so the instances were few and between. He swallowed the snickers when Caelum glared at him.

"Well, that proves it. You're Arun," he admitted, resigned.

"How can you tell?" Max asked. "You and that girl were both against him being Arun."

"One, no one but me, Arty's dad, and Arun really knew her full name. She hates it to the point she'll interrupt teachers before they say it during roll call," Caelum reasoned. "And two, Arun's the only other person who knows what Arty's threats are if we ever told anyone her name." He snorted. "He's so afraid of that threat he knows it by heart."

"Hey! You would be, too, if you had an arrow in front of your face with your name actually on it." Arun shuddered. She made the arrows early on and kept them with her in case she found out they squealed. It was pretty scary of the small girl.

"Oh, yeah. That's Arun." Caelum rolled his eyes, but his lips twitched upward. "Only Arun would say that. And since you're Arun..."

Arun was unsure of what Caelum was doing as he took a step towards him. He opened his mouth to ask, but the right hook to the face silenced him. Arun stumbled back and had no time to recover before he was shoved against a wall, being shaken violently.

"You dumbass! You are the most idiotic person I know! Why the fuck did you put yourself in danger like that?" Caelum yelled. In the past he would have no hope of ever doing something like this to Arun. Now, in his current size and stature, it was as easy as picking up a sack of rice. Gripping the front of Arun's shirt, he slammed him repeatedly into the wall. "Do you have any _idea_ what you did to Arty because you did that?"

"Ow! Son of a-" Arun dug his nails into Caelum's forearms. "What, you _wanted_ Arty to die at the hands of a Heartless? If I didn't do what I did, Arty wouldn't even be here!"

"So, you thought it was better for her to be scarred for life, seeing you disappear at the hands of a Heartless instead? How considerate of you."

"I was trying to protect her, asshole! What else was I supposed to do?"

Caelum scowled. He stopped shaking Arun, releasing him. Arun slid down to the ground, sending a nasty glare up at the younger boy. Damn it! This was so unfair! Caelum was going to take advantage of his size now. Before, Arun could hold his own against Caelum since he was much more muscular than the skinnier boy. Now? He was a shrimp and it sucked. He stood to his feet, brushing himself off like nothing happened.

"What happened to you? Why do you look like that?" Caelum demanded.

"We don't know. That's what we're trying to figure out," Max answered. He was slightly unnerved by the aggression between the two boys. "But, I have another question. Why does Arun think it's been a few days since his world disappeared when it's actually been a year?"

"Perhaps I can explain," Merlin spoke, adjusting his glasses. "The darkness is a complicated subject and fickle to what we know as truth. When you are lost in the darkness you lose everything that defines you such as your memories, your feelings, and your very sense of being. To Arun it must have felt like he simply fell asleep and awakened in a different place. He would not know time has passed in his absence."

"Yeah. I still feel like Arty should still be a kid with no curves to speak of," Arun snickered. Caelum smacked him upside the head.

"That doesn't explain how this idiot suddenly got into a new body none of us recognize," Caelum said, ignoring Arun's whining. "He should have become a Heartless instead of winding up in a new body. A Nobody would make more sense, but that didn't happen."

"If that ain't weird, I don't what is," Cid muttered before returning to his work on the computer.

"Yes, that does seem odd," Merlin agreed. "But, unfortunately, I do not know how to resolve this. Without proper observation, I'm afraid I'm at a loss of what to do at this current point in time."

Arun's jaw dropped. No! They came to Merlin to figure out how to get out of this mess. He didn't want to be stuck in a body that wasn't his. He really wanted to cry.

"Please, Merlin, isn't there anything you can do to fix this?" he pleaded desperately.

He shook his head. "I'm afraid at the moment nothing can be done."

Arun slumped in defeat. No...This wasn't fair! He just wanted to let things turn back to normal. Why was this his reward for saving a dear friend? Why did _he_ have to suffer for this when all he did was protect someone he cared about? He tried to push down the misery threatening to engulf him.

"However," Merlin added. Arun's ears perked up in small hope. He gazed up at the ceiling as if all the answers were there, "there may be something I can do. I suppose there are a few things you can do while I look further into this matter."

"There is?" Arun asked, peeling back up with hope.

"It's quite strange you are occupying a body whose identity is a mysterious boy sleeping within a castle. You should figure out whose body you occupy as well as seek out your own."

"What do you mean?" Max asked, curious.

"What Caelum said is true. If Arun was attacked by a Heartless, he should have become one as well. Yet, it is unusual his heart found its way into another body. Because Arun is most likely someone of strong will, his body would have become an empty shell-thus becoming a Nobody. In order to return to your body once I find the procedure to turn you back to normal we will need both your heart and your body within reach."

"So, I need my Nobody to return back to myself?" Arun paraphrased.

"In theory, yes."

He grinned. "This'll be a piece of cake."

Caelum frowned in distaste It was obvious he wasn't pleased.

"Didn't you hear Merlin? We have to find your Nobody."

"And?"

"Your Nobody might be gone, stupid! With Sora swinging his Keyblade everywhere in different worlds he might end up destroying your Nobody!"

Arun froze at the new word thrown into the conversation. It wasn't one he understood but knew it was familiar somehow. His mind flashed back to the dream he had where he wielded that strange weapon. Was that what it was called? A Keyblade? The name itself held no significance him. Somehow...it did.

He shook his head. No. It was just his imagination from all this stress. It was nothing.

"Sora? Oh, that's the Keyblade wielder my dad's traveling with," Max realized. He noticed the questioning look Caelum shot him. "My dad's Goofy. I'm sure you've met him?"

Caelum nodded. "You're Goofy's son? I heard he had one in passing. You look a lot like him."

"Yeah, I get that a lot."

"Speaking of Goofy and Sora, we should send a message to them," Merlin advised. He waved a wand to have three books float to him from one pile of books. He flipped through each one as he spoke. "We can't have them destroying every Nobody they see. Should one be Arun's, it will not be pretty. Send them a message so they keep an eye out for a special Nobody."

"Special?" Arun, Caelum, and Max chimed.

"Why, a special Nobody for a special situation, of course!" Merlin chuckled at his own joke, which no one found funny. He coughed to a stop when he noticed. "Ah, Cid? Can you send a message to their Gummi ship?"

"I would, but can't," Cid grunted.

"Arty locked you out again, didn't she?" Caelum deduced, a smirk on his lips.

"Yer damn right! And over how to update the town defense system!"

"Arty and Cid overlook most of the town's main computer system," Caelum explained to Arun and Max, who were a bit confused with Cid's sudden cursing. "They collaborate together to develop new technological advances that may benefit the town. Unfortunately for Cid, that means Arty can lock Cid out of the system and he can't get back in no matter how much he tries. She usually does that when Cid bothers her."

Arun whistled. Arty did all of that? "Step up from wanting to build faster ships and airplanes."

"You should have seen her when she found out Gummi ships existed."

"So, what do we do now if Cid can't get into the computer? We have to send that message before Dad accidentally kills your body," Max pointed out.

"Arty's the only one who can access it at the moment. Cid can never figure out what the password to the system is," said Caelum.

"Then, I'll go ask her to remove it," Arun volunteered. He walked over to the door without waiting for a reply. Besides, he wanted to talk to Arty without Caelum around. Heaven knows what he might do if he saw Arun upset Arty _again._

"Wait, Arun, I don't think that's a good-" Caelum started.

Before he could finish, Arun opened the door and out. He ran out into the street to head towards the market plaza. He needed a few things to help him comfort Arty. If he knew her, she would need only one thing to be the happy girl he normally remembered.

He grinned, hoping at the bottom of his heart this would work out. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In honor of me recently finding out the Ducktales game being redone I decided to let Scrooge McDuck make an appearance. For those of you who know what's going on in the gaming world, don't lie. If you've seen the trailer, how many of you sang along the moment you heard the beat? Because I know I did! Seriously, I was looking for demos on my 3DS to play when I got bored and looked through the E3 trailers. Saw it and I literally sang it word for word without looking at the lyrics. Ah, my childhood returns.
> 
> Disney Fun Facts
> 
> Scrooge McDuck: Born in Scotland and coming from humble beginnings, Scrooge McDuck happens to be one of the richest fictional characters according to Forbes magazine. He obtained first in the magazine's Top 15 richest characters in three different years. He's also the uncle of Donald Duck and the great-uncle of Huey, Dewey, and Louie. He considers an American dime the source of his good fortune as it's a reminder of his early labors and calls it his "Old Number One." Throughout Ducktales, several villains have tried to steal his lucky dime although they never succeeded.


	5. Unexpected Plans

Chapter 5

Arun ran through the castle town of Hollow Bastion searching around for a sign of Arty. He wasn't familiar with the town as well as Caelum nor did he have a map, but he had an idea where he could find her.

Back in Meryton, when Arty would get upset she would hide herself away to a place where she could see a magnificent view. She always told him if she saw the bigger picture, she would realize her problems were small in comparison to the problems of everyone else. It showed she wasn't the only one with issues. He would normally find and comfort her with some ice cream to cheer her up. Even in a different town, no doubt her habits were still the same.

Arun eventually wandered towards the castle, which he figured was one of the nearest and highest viewpoints in this world. He stared up at the castle from his place at its base by a set of stairs. There were many ledges and cranes on the castle from the renovations Max mentioned earlier. His eyes finally spotted a small figure sitting on a ledge facing a valley down below covered in a sea of black land. He made his way up, jumping from ledge to ledge carefully until finally he reached the ledge.

Pulling himself up, he looked at Arty sitting with her legs dangling over the edge, her back to him. He was almost guilty she was feeling like this because she believed he was dead. He wanted to tell her he was still alive, but how? He took a deep breath and managed a cheery smile.

"Hey, there you are," he said, cheerfully. He approached her with a forced spring in his step. "Took me forever to find you. You know, you need to think about finding easier hiding spots. I thought the ice cream would melt on the way up here."

"What do you want?" Arty asked. Her voice was strangely raspy. He recognized it-her voice got like that when she's been crying.

He tilted his head.

"What do you mean?"

"What do you want? Munny? A date?" She turned her torso so she could face him. He faltered upon glimpsing at her tear-stained face, her eyes puffy from crying yet still holding a cold glare. "Let me tell you something, pal. You're going about this the wrong way by posing as someone's who's dead. And doing a really bad job, at that."

He sighed, running a hand through his bangs. He approached the ledge and he took a seat next to her. He set the plastic bag he had containing the ice cream he bought between them. After scavenging through his pockets, he found a wallet that contained a serious amount of cash. While she was looking at him suspiciously, he pulled out two chocolate fudge bars. Arun stuck one in his mouth, offering the other to her. After a second's hesitation, she took it. He took the bar out of his own mouth.

"Look. I'm not after anything. Not munny or a d-date." He snickered at the thought. "I want one of my best friends back. I want her to see I'm who I say I am without thinking I have some hidden motive."

"How can I believe that? You don't even look like Arun!" she exclaimed. "Arun was sixteen years old. You're fourteen and _shorter_ than me. Besides, Arun's dead. I saw his heart disappear after that Heartless got him."

Her breath hitched as if she was about to burst into tears.

Arun wrinkled his nose. "Wasn't it you who told me to believe in other worlds when I didn't think there were any? It's the same here. You have to believe I'm Arun. Even if I don't look like him, I'm telling the truth. I'm him."

Arty stayed silent, staring at her melting ice cream. Arun said nothing. She needed to think about what he just said because some of the stuff he said. Only he knew he said that. He nibbled on his ice cream bar as she thought. He was halfway done with it when she finally spoke.

"Prove it," Arty said in a definite tone. "Prove to me you're Arun."

"What do you want me to do? Tell you your embarrassing secrets? Sing and dance?" Arun knew Arty wanted proof no one else knew about her. This proof had to be something that would shock her like a discovery in her research. Stuff like saying her full name (which was rather common for a girl's name and far too easy to guess based on her nickname) wouldn't work.

A glint in the corner of his eye distracted him. It was coming from Arty. Glancing to the side, he saw something that made him freeze. In Arty's hair were two familiar metal hair pins keeping her fringe to the side. They weren't just any hair pins. They were the sun hair pins he made for her birthday. The reason it was so surprising was because she was actually wearing them. Her long fringe was out of the way so he could even see she was wearing Caelum's birthday present from last year. She actually chose to wear them?

"Your hair pins," he blurted out. "You're wearing them? I thought you wouldn't wear them since they weren't as expensive as Caelum's?"

Arty was startled, her hand raising to brush fingertips against the hairpins' marbles.

"What are you talking about? My hair pins?"

"I'm the one who made them for your birthday with the marbles I kept since I was in the orphanage. I gave them to you the night after your birthday when we were attacked by heartless."

Her breath caught in her throat.

"Wait, but no one knows that except Arun."

"That's because I _am_ Arun! I'm the one who made those for you! I didn't get you a birthday present so I made those and gave them to you at three in the morning the night after your birthday."

Arty's eyes widened. Her slackened hand dropped the ice cream bar, allowing it to fall to the ground below

"No, that's not possible. Arun died. I swear I saw him die!" she exclaimed. Her breath began to quicken from the shock she appeared to be in.

"No, Arty. I'm alive! Please you've gotta believe me!" Arun pleaded. "Look, some weird stuff happened to me so I don't look like myself anymore. I know I don't look like my normal self. But I swear I'm who I say I am."

"No, no, no! Arun's dead! Arun's dead!" Arty shot up to her feet. She was blinking rapidly to keep her glistening eyes focused. She pressed the heels of her hands to her eyes."I always think Arun's around, but I know he's dead! I keep hoping he's alive every single day. Why can't I stop hoping he's alive? Arun's dead. _Arun's dead!_ "

"Arty!" Arun stood to his feet. He watched his friend shake her head, telling herself to stop imagining things. Was this what Caelum meant? Arty never got over his 'death' because she kept hoping he was alive? Guilt bubbled in the pit of his stomach. No wonder Caelum was so angry with him. He made Arty believe he was dead. She hoped he was alive until this day when everyone and everything, including her own mind, told her he was gone. This must have been torture for her. She didn't know whether to do the logical thing and accept he was dead or to keep her hope alive. Seeing her like this was terrible. "Arty..."

He reached a hand to touch her shoulder, to tell her he wasn't dead.

Suddenly, black shadows emerged from the ground from a swirling mass to form the creatures from that night: the Heartless. There were several of them in all. Some were different from the black ants, yet he recognized they were of the same species from the glowing yellow eyes.

Arty recovered herself, looking at them in alarm. Arun placed himself in front of Arty in a flash in a defensive stance. He took in the small black ants to the big bellied ones. The creatures squirmed and twitched in anticipation. He cursed.

_Damn it! Not now! I can't fight them like this!_

If only he had a weapon! He needed to protect Arty, but not in a way like before. HIs hand touched his chest. Not in a way that cost him his friend's trust and hurt her so badly.

"Get back!" Arty shoved her way past him. Her right hand touched a bracelet on her left wrist. He jumped when a large silver bow transformed from the bracelet. She drew back the silvery drawstring where a shimmering arrow made of light appeared. She spoke to him, her eyes never leaving the Heartless. "Get out of here and run. I'll distract them while you get help."

"No way! I'm not leaving you here!" Arun exclaimed, appalled.

"This isn't a game! You could get hurt!"

"I never thought of this as a game! I promised I'd always protect you!"

"What? You never promised-" she started, but was interrupted by the Heartless once more.

Throughout their argument, the Heartless twitched restlessly. They finally had enough. One of the small fry twitched once, then lunged with claws ready to rip out their hearts. Arun noticed it approach out of the corner of his eye.

"Look out!" he cried.

Arty was too slow to react. Arun pushed Arty out of the way when the Heartless swiped where she once stood. She stood with wide eyes for a moment, then quickly recovered as another Heartless (a small floating one that shot fireballs) sent a burst of fire at her. She used her bow to dissipate it with an arrow before it reached her. Drawing back the string, she shot at the floating creature. The arrow hit true and caused the Heartless to disappear only to have another appear and shoot ice at them. She jumped back to avoid the freezing ice and put distance between them. A Heartless followed her movement when Arun kicked it away.

"You stay away from her!" he threatened.

For a few minutes this was the strategy the two seemingly formed. While Arty stayed in the back near the ledge to avoid their attack range, she shot a volley of arrows at the Heartless. Many disappeared from her attacks once the arrow connected. However, to their dismay, once one disappeared two more replaced it. Arun stayed in between Arty and the heart-eating creatures to make sure they would not get to her. He could do nothing more than kick the small fry away. The ones that floated in the air and the large ones he could not outright attack-they were simply too far away or too big. The fat ones charged at him so fast all he could do was roll out of the way to avoid being crushed. This went on for some time, but even Arun with his boundless energy could not last any longer. Taking a glance at Arty, he saw she was losing energy. They were getting tired while the Heartless were replaced each time one was defeated. They wouldn't last longer.

As predicted Arun couldn't keep up the strategy anymore.

After rolling out of the way to dodge the fat Heartless' belly flop, his foot tripped over nothing. Because he was still becoming accustomed to this body, he had no balance. He kept overestimating his abilities and reach. He hit the ground and tried to scrambled back up with a shadow passed over him. Snapping his gaze up, he saw the fat Heartless in front of him. He froze, watching it scratch its tiny head with its huge hand as if it were confused. He was so focused on the large one he didn't notice a small one sneaking up on him.

"Look out!" Arty cried.

Arun whirled his head as the small Heartless raised its claw to rip out his heart once more. He squeezed his eyes shut, desperately hoping to survive and protect Arty. He didn't want her to go through the guilt again. All of his wishes seemed in vain when he felt a semi-familiar warmth rush to his hand. Then, his fingers curled as the warmth materialized allowing him to feel cold metal as all suddenly fell silent.

Momentarily confused, he cracked open one eye to see what happened. A strange sight caused him to open the other and his jaw dropped.

In his right hand, which he raised in a feeble attempt to defend himself, was the strange key-like weapon he saw in his most current dream. However, it wasn't the one he wielded in the dream but his opponent's-a strange dark geared key weapon pulsing with a malevolent energy. In his hand the weapon felt warm and familiar as if it was home after so long. He stared at the weapon. Where the heck did this thing come from? He didn't own a weapon like this! He would have known he did! What was going on?

It was then he remembered the silence. Scanning the area, he saw the Heartless had stopped their attacks. They were fidgeting nervously. In fact it was almost like they were...afraid of the weapon he held. Which was ridiculous! How could the Heartless be afraid of a weapon when they weren't afraid of Arty's bow? It didn't make sense! Why were they afraid? Was that even possible?

An image of the boy, who resembled his physical body, flashed in his mind. He stood in the same wasteland from his dream. He was also surrounded by the blue mice. The boy moved with quick precision, striking down those strange blue mice-like creatures. Each strike he made took down the creatures and sent a flash of pain through his body. It built in his chest nearly to the point where he couldn't breath or take it anymore. The pain sparked an unbearable fire racing through his veins, making him angry at what he was feeling. His attacks became much more aggressive and merciless as the anger built upon the horrible throbbing threatening to paralyze him. If the creatures had not vanished upon being cut down, he was certain corpses would litter the wasteland where they would be left to rot.

All the creatures were gone before he knew. He was left standing in the middle of the wasteland all alone. Breathing heavily, he couldn't help but wonder why that hurt so much. Fighting brought him the chance to lose himself in the rush to survive. It made him feel alive like never before. Although he was in horrible pain, it proved he was alive. Now, as the adrenaline faded, he began to feel empty. Why? What could he do to fill this void? Why did it hurt so much to be so empty? What could make it go away? Why, why, why-

"Arun."

Arun blinked once. The wasteland faded from his mind's eye as he remembered he was in Hollow Bastion. Around his neck were two arms wrapping around him. The person behind him was trembling. Looking over his shoulder, he got an eyeful of auburn hair. She was whispering frantically in his ear.

"Calm down, Arun. It's okay. You're fine."

"A-Arty." He slipped her arms from him to face her. She took the hint and dropped her arms to her sides. It was then he noticed she wasn't the one trembling-he was. Swallowing, he glanced around to find they were alone with no hint of a Heartless anywhere. "Wh-What happened? Where are the Heartless?"

"You destroyed them after your Keyblade appeared," she explained carefully. She frowned with eyes softening. "I have no doubt you're Arun now."

"Why do you believe me now?" he asked, still lost about the Heartless.

"Your stance. Whenever you fight it's always that stance with it raised in the air like Riku's. Plus," she added, "you tend to fight aggressively when you pull off acrobatic moves no one else but you can do. And, you mentioned my hair pins and the marbles on them. You were the one to give them to me, after all."

Arun nodded. Of course. She saw his fighting style enough times to see he could get pretty aggressive when he fights. He was happy she recognized him through that and her hair pins. However, he wished he knew how he managed to destroy the Heartless when he didn't even remember doing so. He thought he was fighting against those blue creatures. Another thought popped into his head.

"What's a Keyblade? And why do I have it?"

She stared at him, surprised. "I was going to ask you about that. You don't know what a Keyblade is?"

He shook his head. It sounded familiar.

"A Keyblade is a weapon sued to fight against the Heartless. They're actually afraid of it. Only certain people can wield a Keyblade, but I don't know why you have one. As far as I know only Sora, Riku, and King Mickey can wield one." Arty laughed softly. "Well, things always happened to you when you least expect them. Only with you, Arun."

"Yeah, I guess," he said, sheepishly. HIs face turned red as he remembered one time he accidentally won the local lottery from town festival. He bought a single ticket at Arty's insistence. He ended up winning enough money to pay his rent for the year.

She laughed at how bright red he went. Not knowing why, Arun joined in. All he knew was that he was high on adrenaline. The two laughed for awhile until tears came to Arty's eyes. It soon died down. She wiped away the tears, smiling brightly.

"God, Arun. I missed you so much. Why do you look like that?" she asked, gesturing to his body.

He shrugged. "I don't know. That's why I came here in the first place."

"It's weird. I have to admit you're cuter in that body." Suddenly, Arty hugged him once against tightly. "You're so short! It's so different from that scary tough guy face you put on before."

Arun resisted the urge to hit her for calling him cute. Damn it, he wasn't _cute!_ That was degrading! He pushed down the urge to hug her back. To him it seemed like several days since he saw her. To her it had been over a year. He had no idea he would miss her like it had been a year for him as well. He sighed, content. He found his friends again. He didn't even care he was in a different body and in a different world.

With his friends here, he was home.

* * *

xxx

* * *

If someone told Arun over a year ago he would be eating with his friends and people from other worlds for dinner, he would have called them an idiot or laugh in their face. As it was, he couldn't say anything.

The sky had grown dark over the world as its townspeople retreated into their homes for the night. Inside Merlin's cottage there was much chatter where the occupants and guests were seated at the table for dinner.

Arun found himself squished at the crowded table between Arty and Caelum. The table had various dishes cooked by Cid were being picked off by nine different people. To say they were different was an understatement.

After reconciling with Arty, he met the rest of the people Arty and Caelum worked with. There was Yuffie, the girl he thought was cute, and Aerith, a sweet girl who saw no wrong in anyone. That couldn't be said for Leon, who was a frightening stoic man if Arun wasn't who he was. They were an odd bunch, but the way they interacted with one another reminded him of how he acted with his own friends.

Arun, being the growing boy he was, was being his usual self by devouring anything in sight regardless of how it looked or tasted.

"Ugh, how can you eat that?" Yuffie asked in disgust as Arun helped himself for a fourth helping of the strange stew Cid concocted.

"What? It's just food," he said. He paused, reaching him into his mouth to take out a fish skeleton from within.

"Just food? Try random pieces of leftovers Cid pulled from the fridge," Max retorted.

"It's still food."

Caelum rolled his eyes. "Ignore him. For as long as I've known him Arun has always been a bottomless pit with no sense of taste. Plus, it means he's less picky about food."

"But, how can someone that short eat so much?" Yuffie asked in disbelief.

For a split second, Arun stopped eating long enough to give her a frosty look. His face was absent of any cheerful smile. The temperature in the room dropped.

"Don't call me short."

Then, everything went back to normal as he continued eating.

Arty coughed. "Yeah, um, Yuffie? He's not in his body so he's not really this short."

"Speaking of bodies, were you able to contact Sora about what's going on?" Leon asked. They were already briefed on the situation when they were introduced to Arun and Max.

"We tried. The kid ain't answering, though," Cid replied. He was wearing an apron that contrasted from his tough pilot appearance. Said appearance was further cracked as he carried empty dishes over to the sink. "We couldn't leave a message either since his ship's messaging machine's broken."

"Great, Cid. Arun's gonna lose his body because _you_ forgot to fix his messaging machine," Arty snapped.

"Shudup! If it weren' for a brat distractin' me, I woulda fixed it!"

"Don't blame this on me, old man!"

"I'll do whatever I damn want!"

"This is quite a problem we have on our hands," Merlin mused, ignoring the bickering of the two engineers. "With no means of contacting Sora there is the greater risk of him eliminating Arun's body. No doubt it is under the Organization's control."

"Why can't you wait until later when Sora comes by?" Yuffie suggested.

"It might be too late by then," said Leon, gravely.

Arun finally finished eating and frowned. "So what? We can't do anything while this Sora guy's off killing Nobodies?"

Aerith hummed, tilting her head to the ceiling in thought. "You could go and find him yourself. You have the means to, don't you?"

Everyone stared at her. What did she mean by that? Suddenly, Arty grinned.

"Holy Light! Why didn't I think of that before? Thanks, Aerith!"

She jumped up from her chair and ran to the computer. Sliding into the sea, she began to type away. Everyone else was left in confusion.

"What's she talking about?" Max asked Aerith, blinking.

"You have a Gummi ship, don't you? You could travel to other worlds and try to find them," she answered in a soft-spoken voice. She smiled. "I have a feeling Arun isn't the type to sit around while people do things for him."

"Damn straight! I hate sitting around doing nothing." Arun nodded proudly. He's always been an independent person for as long as he could remember. He hated it when Arty or Caelum did things for him without asking for anything in return. It always meant he owed them somehow.

"Don't I know it," Caelum muttered, shaking his head slightly.

"But, how would they be able to find them? There's-" Yuffie started before being interrupted by Arun and Max.

"A million worlds up there in space," Arun and Max chimed. The two shared a look a grinned.

Cid stared at them strangely. "Yeah...So, I don't think searching for'em by looking at each world'll work."

"Not if they have the Gummi world index," Arty said in a sing-song tone.

Leon quirked an eyebrow. "The what?"

"A program I've developed in my free time. It can find out what worlds a Gummi ship has visited based on a period of time. When a Gummi ship visits a world they leave behind a signal trace that makes it foreign to the space around it. With my program we can find the signal. I've programmed it to find Sora's ship's signal." She continued to type away at an alarming rate. "If I can install the program into your Gummi ship you can find the worlds Sora has visited recently. It will be easier to find him and tell him the news. While you're at it, you can go look for Arun's Nobody."

"But, Arun needs a Gummi ship," Max mentioned.

"What are you talking about? I'm installing it in the Gummi ship you guys came in."

"Then, how am I getting home?"

"I thought you would be going with Arun," Yuffie wondered.

"Why would I? I was only supposed to drop him off here so he could find help. I'm heading home after this."

Arun shrugged.

"I have no idea why you'd think Max would come, but I don't mind. He's free to come along if he wants."

Max flushed and scratched his cheek.

"I guess I could," he said, uncertainly.

"Then, why don't you want to help him find his Nobody?" Aerith wondered.

"I want to, but I've got responsibilities to the castle and Queen Minnie. Before he left, my dad entrusted me to protect the castle until he came back. I can't leave the Queen to defend the castle on her own."

"Ah, if I may say something?" Merlin spoke up. He took off his glasses and began to wipe them with a handkerchief. "I believe Queen Minnie would want you to help a friend and not stay in the castle. After all, for as long as I've known the king and queen they put their friends and people before themselves."

"Hey, that's right. Goofy almost went against King Mickey's orders to stay with the Keyblade wielder when it was with Riku," Yuffie mentioned excitedly. "Sora told me all about it. When Riku took the Keyblade with him Donald and Goofy had to follow. But, Goofy didn't want to betray Sora and the two of them went back to help Sora. That's when Sora got his Keyblade back."

Max gasped. "What? He did?"

"Almost. He wanted to help and stay with Sora despite going against your king's orders. He wanted to help a friend," Aerith agreed. She nodded to Arun. "I think you should go and help Arun. I'm sure Queen Minnie will understand if you want to help him."

"Well..." He worried his lip. He glanced at Arun. All Arun could do was raise an eyebrow. Honestly, he wouldn't mind Max coming along with him to find his Nobody. Traveling across worlds sounded fun, but if he was going alone, he was skeptical. He didn't know anything about other worlds. What if he got into trouble? The thought brought a scowl to his face. Then, it disappeared as Max said, "I guess Queen Minnie and everyone else can hold down the fort for a while."

"Good, 'cause the kid's gonna need help fightin' Heartless out there," Cid said, starting to gather up the last of the dirty dishes.

Arun grinned. "You say that like we're going off on a journey."

"You might as well be. Finding Sora or your Nobody isn't going to be as easy as you think," Leon warned. "And since you have a Keyblade the heartless will follow you wherever you go. They will appear in every world you visit."

He shrugged. He never really understood their explanation of what a Keyblade was other than it was important and special. Apparently, it was also the reason Sora was on his journey as well. Although, he couldn't help but feel like there was more about the Keyblade than everyone was telling him.

"So what? It's not like they'll stand a chance again me," he bragged.

"Arun, this is serious." Arty stopped typing long enough to look him in the eye. He could see the desperation in those cloudy eyes. "We lost you once to the Heartless. Even if you came back to us, you don't look like the Arun I know. I don't want to lose you a second time while you're looking for your Nobody." She broke eye contact to stare at her keyboard. "Just the thought of losing you again terrifies me. I can't go through that again."

"Arty..." A dull pain shot through his chest. Since the moment he learned he was gone for a whole year, he was lost on what to do about their pain. He hurt Arty-something he swore he'd never do. And she was never going to forget the guilt she built upon herself when remembering he was in this situation because he lost his heart protecting her. He was never going to forget the pain he caused her. Still, he managed a grin through his pain. "Don't be an idiot. Do you think I'm going to lose to the Heartless again? Now that I've got a Keyblade the Heartless won't stand a chance again me! One swipe of my Keyblade and they're toast!"

His bravado appearance faltered when Aerith, Arty, and Yuffie started to giggle while Cid, Leon, and Caelum shook their heads with a smile.

"What's so funny?" Max asked, lost.

"You sounded a lot like Sora just now," Yuffie giggled. "He said the same thing to us at the start of his journey."

Caelum smirked. "Well, Arun, you certainly haven't changed. Arty, if you're worried about him, I'll be keeping an eye on him."

"What do you mean?" Arty asked.

"I'm going to join him and Max in their search. What, you thought I'd sit back while you go off getting into trouble?" he said, catching Arun as his jaw dropped.

"Hell no! I don't need a babysitter! Do you even know how to fight against the Heartless?" Arun sputtered indignantly.

"More than you do. Besides, I doubt you even know how to use _Cure_."

"Use what?"

"Exactly."

Merlin sighed. "I believe having Caelum with you on your journey will help. Arty, how long will it take for you to install your program into their ship?"

Arty glanced back at the computer screen and started muttering to herself. She was so deep in thought she didn't notice Cid looking over her shoulder. After typing something down, she said, "If I do it now, by tomorrow morning at the latest."

He beamed brightly and he stood up.

"Excellent! Before you boys go off on your adventure, it would be safe to teach you a bit of magic."

"Magic? Why?" Arun asked, startled.

"Well, it's safe to have some tricks up your sleeve in the case you cannot properly defend yourself. Also, you may have something to help you in battle when you don't have any Ethers or Potions to heal you."

He tilted his head like he normally did when he was utterly confused about something.

"Huh?"

Merlin and Caelum covered their eyes and shook their heads. Max merely sighed and grabbed Arun's arm to get him to stand. He began to push him towards the door.

"Come on. You've got a lot to learn," he said.

This was going to be a _long_ and educational journey.


	6. A New Start

"Do you have everything?"

"Yes."

"What about the Potions we gave you?"

"They're in my pouch."

"And the Ethers?"

"I've got them, alright? Jeez, Arty, I've got everything!" Arun exclaimed, annoyed.

Arty held up her hands in defense. "Sorry, sorry. I know I'm acting like a mother hen, but I'm a little worried. It's your first time going through the worlds. You're not used to traveling to different places like Caelum and I are."

"I know that, but that doesn't mean you have to treat me like I'm going away to summer camp for the first time."

"Well, you do act like a child most of the time," Caelum chuckled from where he was packing some clothes.

He stuck his tongue out at the two. Really, he was the older one here. Did they forget he was seventeen? He knew how to take care of himself, so why were they treating him like he was a kid?

It was the day after Arun found his friends again in Hollow Bastion. After spending an entire night getting a crash course on basic magical spells, it was time for Arun, Caelum, and Max to leave for their journey. To be honest Arun was so excited he could barely sleep. He was going on a journey across multiple worlds. Who wouldn't be excited? Never in his wildest dreams did he imagine this to happen. Sure, he was going on this journey for an important task like finding his Nobody, but, he was excited to see new places.

It seemed no else shared his sentiments. For Caelum, the joy of going to other worlds wore off after a year and Max was reluctant to go with them. Despite that, he didn’t care how they felt. He was going to enjoy this for as long as he could. The only one to share his enthusiasm was Arty.

Although she was exhausted from the late night she spent installing her program into Max's Gummi ship, she managed to match Arun's excitement. However, she acted with a bit of worry like a mother hen, clucking at each bag and his appearance. He allowed it since she hasn't done so for a year. It was nice to know after all this time that part of her hadn’t changed.

"You're sure you've got everything?" she questioned once again.

"Yeah, I do. I haven't forgotten anything," he replied, exasperated. "Why do you keep asking me? Caelum needs to get his stuff ready, too.”

"I already know what to pack," Caelum said. "I've traveled across multiple worlds already. At least I know what provisions to pack unlike someone I know."

"Hey! Do the words ‘different body’ not mean anything to you?" He waved down to his foreign appearance. "You try waking up in a different body you don't know. And on top of that I find out other worlds exist?"

"We'll, he's kind of right. He’s going through a lot lately," Arty agreed, smiling sheepishly. "He's got a lot of his plate right now. We can't really blame him if he doesn't know about some things."

"I guess not. But, I know I can tell him one thing." Caelum smirked, impish. "We told you so. Other worlds existed. Guess who was wrong for once?"

Arun shot him a nasty glare.

"Of all the things you can say, it's that? How did you even remember?"

“Of course I did. Since it's you and I wanted to prove you wrong, who wouldn't remember it?"

"Asshole."

"Loser."

"Bastard!"

"Bonehead!"

"Aw, I missed this!" Arty suddenly squealed. She stood up, grabbing the two boys' hands to pull them into a hug. They were stunned by the wide silly smile on her face, her silliness brightening the mood. "I've really missed you two fighting all the time. It wasn't the same without it.”

The two boys glanced at one another in disbelief. She missed their daily fights? Because they were certain they didn't miss this or even the other boy. Arun hadn’t. To him it felt but a few days since he and Caelum had last fought.

"You really missed us fighting all the time?”

"Yeah! Well, maybe not,” she laughed. “I’ve missed the three of us being together like this. Feels like it's been too long."

"Not long enough," Caelum muttered.

"It hasn't been the same since we thought you died," she continued as if she hadn’t heard him. "I didn't think after five years I would get used to arguing, loud music, and sarcastic remarks. I missed Arun's company.

"Great. Nice to know you go tired of me," Caelum retorted in mild sarcasm.

"I didn't mean it like that. I just missed having both of my boys here."

Arun gave her a withering glare. He wasn't one of her boys. That's not how it worked. If anything, she was his girl. And, no, not in that way. She didn't own him.

The door clicked open.

"Wow. As much as I'd hate to interrupt this group hug," Max said, his head poking out from the door crack. He grinned the moment he saw them. Arun’s face heated up knowing how this might have looked to him. He resisted the urge to throw her arms off, "I think it's time to head out. It's getting pretty late."

"Oh! Right, right." Arty released the boys. She skipped over to the door, opening it so she could walk out. She paused, looking over her shoulder with a grin. "C'mon guys! It's adventure time!"

She skipped off down the hallway and down the stairs, humming. Max stared after her back.

"You know, I never thought your friend would be so...peppy," he mentioned. "It's kind of cu-"

“Finish that word," Arun threatened, irritation welling inside him, "and I will throw you into the valley of heartless."

Max backed away, thoroughly cowed by it.

"Okay, okay! I got it. No calling Arty names-either as an insult or as a compliment.” He suddenly snickered. Arun quirked an eyebrow.

“What's so funny?" asked Caelum.

"I think it's funny how that girl-a tiny, smart girl-has you guys wrapped around her finger."

Max let out his laughter and bolted out of the room. Arun shot the spot where he once stood a withering glare as he contemplated his words.

"We aren't wrapped around her finger," Arun said, trying to convince himself.

"Yeah. We don't always listen to her," Caelum agreed.

Yet, why did he get the feeling Max was right? He shuddered. Glancing at Caelum, he saw he had done the same, revolted. There was no way they were going to mention this again.

Pushing those thoughts to the back of their minds, Arun and Caelum decided to head downstairs. They had all of their things and easily carried them down the stairs and into the living room of Arty and Caelum's home.

After the worlds returned to normal, Arty got her wish to live in a castle town surrounded by gardens. She told him when their world, Meryton, reappeared they returned there to find almost everyone, including Arty's father, Liam, back to normal. Arty, Liam, and Caelum had decided to move to Hollow Bastion for a better, exciting life. They had lived there ever since.

They went to the door off to the side leading to Arty's workshop.

Inside, they found Arty standing next to Max's Gummi ship. The workshop was actually the garage of the house. But, with the various tools, wires, and computer screens meant it was converted into the workshop she had always wanted. She was talking to Max about something.

"Do you think Chip can trade Gummi parts with me?" she asked. "I've heard Disney Town gets some of the rarest Gummis you can find. I'd love to try outfitting some of our ships with'em."

"Maybe. You kind of share the same love for engineering like Chip and Dale. Though, Dale acts a bit whacky sometimes," Max mused. "I'm sure if you talk to Chip might be willing to trade Gummis and some tips."

"You think?"

"Yeah! Actually,,I'm really impressed you managed to make a new program and install it in the Gummi ship mainframe in a couple hours."

Arty laughed. "It's the way I act, right? I act kinda oblivious sometimes and I'm a total airhead. Most people wouldn't think I can do complicated algorithms in my head."

"I guess not. Though, it's pretty cu-"

" _Max_ ," Arun growled, sharply. Max tensed. "What did I just say?"

"Right, right." He waved it off. "So, you guys ready to leave?"

"I was born ready.”

"You were born to be annoying," Caelum retorted. He ignored Arun's sputtering to go towards Arty and the Gummi ship. "Are you going to be okay on your own?"

"I'm not going to be alone. I've got Dad. I'll be fine," Arty reassured him.

"You sure?"

"Yeah! Plus, I've got Leon and everyone looking out for me. I can manage without you and Arun around."

"Okay." Although he said this, he didn't looked convinced. Arun was the same.

He knew Arty could manage on her own. However, he didn't feel like she could get used to it. Since they had met, she was always around either him or Caelum. Could she really manage on her own with the both of them gone? Either way he would have to put his faith in her.

”Come on, Caelum. Arty'll be fine," Arun said, trying to sound reassuring. He threw a lazy arm over his shoulder, grinning. "Besides, it's not her you should be worrying about right now."

"You're right. I have to worry about dealing with you for an unknown amount of time," Caelum deadpanned.

"I was actually going to say Heartless and Nobodies. I guess you should be worrying about that first."

His laugh was boisterous. Caelum threw him an annoyed look and shoved his arms off of him.

"Okay. If you two are ready, we should get going," Max said. He opened the entrance hatch on the side of the Gummi ship. He was about to enter, but Arty suddenly grabbed his arm.

"Oh! That's right. I actually need to tell Max some things."

"Like what?"

"Just stuff about Arun and Caelum. Caelum tends to burn easily so in some worlds you have to remind him to put on sunblock. Arun also tends to get insomnia in the middle of the night after he wakes up from a nightmare. Try to get him to sleep again or he gets cranky in the mornings. Oh, and also make sure neither of them eat after dinner or before bed. They tend to sleep like logs if they do and wake up late."

"Arty!" Arun and Caelum protested, mortified. Why was she telling Max all of this like a concerned mother whose children were going on a trip without her? She was telling him embarrassing things about them!

"Oh! And one more thing," she added, ignoring the boys. She leaned in close to whisper in Max's ear, using her hand to hide her lips. Her words were soft so only Max heard the message. He blinked in wonder.

"Are you sure that will work?" he asked.

"Of course it will! It's worked for me in the past."

Max opened his mouth to say something. Then, he paused as he thought. "You know what? I'll just take your advice. I hope it does work."

"What do you hope will work?" he asked. He glanced in confusion between the two.

They exchanged a look, earning the ire of both boys. Their eyes carried the unsaid conversation.

"Nothing," Max decided. “It's nothing."

"Like hell it’s nothing!” Arun growled. He didn't like being left out of the loop.

"Really, it’s nothing!" He gasped dramatically. "Oh, would you look at that? I forgot to run a systems check on everything before we launched. 'Scuse me!""

He scurried into the ship like a mouse escaping the jaws of a salivating cat. Arun tried calling after him, but he was gone. He growled. Damn it! Just what did Arty tell him? He was about to chase after him to demand some answers when arms wrapped around his neck.

"Be careful. Okay?' Arty asked, softly. Her cheek nuzzled into the surprisingly soft spikes of his hair.

"I will," he promised. It was a good thing he had his back turned to her. Otherwise, she might have noticed his warm cheeks. He cleared his throat and ducked his head under her arms. "Take care."

"Yeah. Safe journey, Arun."

He nodded. He pretended he didn't hear the small hurt in her voice. He stepped into the ship and headed for the cockpit where he was certain to find Max. As he went, thoughts invaded his mind.

What the hell was wrong with him? Why was he acting like a jerk to Arty? Yes, it was his core personality, but he would never be mean to her. he would tease her on occasion and, okay, maybe even insult her a couple times. However, he didn't mean any of it. She knew that. Then, why did he just brush her off and leave without even looking at her? That wasn't' like him at all.

When Arty would bid him goodbye when he had to leave town for work she would always hug him. What he normally did was grumble about it but allow her to hug until she willingly let go. This was the first time he brushed her off and she was hurt by that. Why would he do such a thing?

_I have no idea what's going on with me,_  Arun thought. Because of the 'different body' situation, his thoughts were scrambled. He was uncomfortable with the whole situation in general and hated it. He wasn't acting himself. Why should he care about hurting Ary's feelings? He did it before and she knew he didn't do it on purpose. So, why was he bothered by it? he groaned, slapping both of his cheeks.  _Get it together! You've got more important things to worry about like your body._

Yes, that was a good first step. He could worry about Arty the next time he saw her. For now, he would worry about the Nobody.

Nodding at his new plans, Arun stepped into the cockpit.

Inside, he found Max fiddling with knobs and levers. He was engrossed with his work, so Arun took his seat to not disturb him. He knew Max knew what he was doing and often didn't like being disturbed when he did it. Arun could respect that. So, he sat there watching Max until he heard the door open behind him.

"Max, are we ready to launch?" Caelum asked. He walked over to seat to the right of the captain's seat and sat in it, setting his bag to the side.

"Yup. Everything looks good," Max confirmed.

"Alright! Let's get this party started!" Arun cheered.

"Yeah. Time to go!"

Max took his seat and started up the ship. Engines thrummed around them bursting with new found life. Max took hold of the steering wheel, peering into a screen in front of them. He directed the large ship out of the workshop and into open space. Arun peered out the window to see Arty following the ship at a safe distance. She looked up and met his eyes. She smiled. He returned it, waving at her. Her lips moved as the ship rose into the air.

_Good luck._

He nodded and mouthed back.

_Stay safe._

Their silent exchange was interrupted as the ship got too far into the air and out of the atmosphere. Hollow Bastion and its inhabitants started to become much smaller until the very world itself became tiny and they blasted into space.

Arun gazed back at Hollow Bastion as it vanished into the dark abyss. Hollow Bastion was the first world he ever visited. Now, it was time to explore new worlds. The thought of it excited him but he was also anxious. Seeing new worlds was going to be fun, he knew that. But, why did he feel uneasy traveling through new places? He suddenly had this strange feeling something terrible was going to happen to him while he was on this journey and he wasn't going to like it.

He wasn't sure what was going to happen, but he wouldn't know until it happened.

He sighed, settling into his seat. This journey was going to be life-changing. He knew that. But, would it be for the better? Guess he had to wait and find out.

* * *

xxx

* * *

 

"I'm so bored!“ Arun exclaimed with a groan.

"Oh, shut up! I know you're bored! Go find something to do," Caelum growled, glaring at him from over the edge of the book he was reading.

“Like what? We're in the middle of space!" He dramatically threw his arms over the side of his chair, his lower lip sticking out. Not that he would ever notice it. "Max, I’m bored!”

"Sorry, Arun. I don't know what to do about that. I'm driving," Max answered, chuckling. He didn't take his eyes off of the map he was looking at.

Arun huffed, glaring at the boring old black backdrop of space outside the window. It was cool the first half-hour he saw it. Now, he was getting sick of seeing nothing but black. Odd. He was complaining about the color white in that white castle. A shudder ran down his spine when he remembered that castle. So...much white...Never again. He heaved a long sigh. Not even an hour after setting off and he was bored out of his mind.

When he imagined traveling across the known universe to explore multiple, exotic worlds he thought it would be more exciting. He would be the valiant hero annihilating heartless and rescuing damsels-in-distress. Not being stuck inside a tin can waiting to go to another world. It was ridiculous! Waiting and being stuck for hours on end with nothing to do was going to numb his mind! For the love of all that's good and light his mind needed to be occupied! He needed to do something to do, damn it!

In Meryton he had more stuff to do than this, he thought moodily. Arun was beginning to miss his stuff back in his room. Whenever he had free time without Arty or Caelum around he would spend his time in his room drawing or playing music. It was a nice outlet during the few times he started to feel bored or angry. Without a sketchbook or guitar at hand he would start to get anxious and feel the need to be destructive. It was because of this Arty had to introduce him to drawing and playing music. They found when Arun got in that mood it was not fun for anyone.

Now, he was beginning to feel the need to break something. Arun was thankful he didn't have a baseball bat in hand. He didn't think Max would like it if he ended up breaking the very expensive control system to the Gummi ship. Well, he may not have a baseball bat, but he had something deceptively sharper.

Arun turned over and brought his legs up to drape over the other arm of the chair. He used the other as a headrest. Holding up his right hand, he concentrated on summoning his new 'toy.' In a surge of power his Keyblade appeared in his hand. He took the time to admire his weapon.

He was still unsure of what to think of his new Keyblade. Actually, he didn't know what a Keyblade was. What made it so special? It was just a stupid key-sword thing. It didn't even have a sharpened edge to speak of, yet it could cut like any other blade! That didn't make sense! And what qualified a person to wield a Keyblade? All he was told was it chose its wielder. How did that work? Did he have to beat someone to get control over it, proving his worth? Obviously not, since he didn't know the other Keyblade wielders. As far as he knew, this Sora kid was the only other one.

Though, it was strange. He has never seen a Keyblade before in his life, but it felt familiar in his grasp. Not that he would remember. His memories before he came to Meryton were gone. Kaput. If he ever held a Keyblade before, he wouldn't know. He sighed, twirling the Keyblade like it was a baton. Just another mystery to put on his list. When his Keyblade hit something hard he stopped as cursing followed it.

"OW!" Caelum yelped. He dropped his book in favor of nursing the new red bump on his forehead. He shot a glare at Arun, who craned his head up to see what happened. "Will you put that thing away? You almost poked my eye out!"

"It'd be a nice improvement," Arun sneered. He allowed the Keyblade to vanish from his grasp as he straightened back up. "You could be like a pirate like that one Halloween 'cept it would be all year round. It's not like you need both."

"Really? So, I guess you don't need both of your family jewels either," he growled.

"Like you could do that."

"Really? Because, unlike you, I've mastered _Blizzaga_. I would make it so cold you wouldn't be able to move right afterwards." He held out his hand where a frosty mist surrounded it.

Arun smirked. Was that a challenge? 

"Just try it."

"Maybe I will!"

"Really, guys? You're fighting about this?" Max groaned. He shook his head. "Man, Arty was right. You two dofight like cats and dogs when she's not around."

The two boys paused in their approaching fight to glance at Max's back. They became curious when they heard him mention Arty.

"What did Arty tell you?" Caelum asked, the frost disappearing.

"That you two hate each other and can't be in the same room for a single minute without fighting. That reminds me. How are you two friends if you hate each other so much?" he questioned. He spun his chair around so he could face them with an incredulous gleam.

"We're not friends. We tolerate each other," Arun stated with a scowl. "I'm only friends with him because Arty was. She forced me to make good with him."

"And I'm only friends with him because Arty keeps dragging him over to hang out with us," Caelum added. "Given the choice, I wouldn't touch this guy with a ten-foot pole."

"Funny! I was going to say the same thing."

"Wait, let me get this straight," Max interrupted, sensing the newly sparked tension. "You guys are telling me you're not really friends because you're both friends with the same girl? A girl forced you to spend time with one another?"

The two nodded. He was silent for a moment. Then, he whistled and shook his head.

"I was right when I saw the three of you together earlier. You guys are whipped."

Arun felt his face heat up considerably. He simultaneously glared at him alongside Caelum in a mix of embarrassment and anger.

"Max..." they hissed.

His laughs turned into coughs the moment he saw the looks. He turned his eyes back to the screen to look for something to distract the boys' wrath. His saving grace came at the small electronic ping resounding from the computer.

"Oh, would you look at that? There's a world up ahead," he announced, casually. At the mention of a new world Arun’s anger faded.

"Awesome! What world?" he asked, nearly bouncing out of his seat in excitement.

Max tapped a few buttons. The blast shield lowered so they could see the outer reaches of space better. Off in the distance in front of them a planet rapidly came into view. Arun craned his head up to see the world was much different from Hollow Bastion. Where as Hollow Bastion held a sky of infinite sunset this world, thankfully, had a regular blue sky. The only landmarks he could spot at the moment were two buildings. One looked to be a kingdom surrounded by a sea and a lone tall tower hidden within a valley. Between the two landmarks, forests connected them. It looked like the perfect place to explore.

"Is this a world Sora has visited?" Caelum questioned.

"Hm...No. Doesn't look like it," Max replied, gazing at another screen. "But, I think this might be a good place to start looking for Arun's Nobody."

"I don't know. It would be a waste of time to go look in this world if there is no chance of running into Sora," he said, thoughtfully.

"Yeah, but who knows if Arun's Nobody will appear in the worlds Sora's been to?"

"I gotta agree with Max on this one," Arun agreed. "The chances of my Nobody coincidentally appearing in the same worlds as this Sora guy are pretty low. I'd rather check every world we come across to find him. Wait, do I call it an 'it?' Technically, it's my body. But, I'm not in it. Oh, whatever!"

"Um, yeah." Max shook his head as Arun wondered aloud. The things that could go through that boy's head. "I think we should at least check out this world."

"It's a waste of time! We still need to tell Sora about what's going on," Caelum argued. He was against exploring a new world. He frowned. "Besides, Arun's agreeing with you so he could go explore this world. We don't have time for this."

"Well, too bad for you I'm doing it, anyway," Arun stated, nodding with finality.

"Excuse me?"

Before Caelum could ask what he meant by that, Arun unbuckled his seat belt and bolted for the teleporter machine. He grabbed one of the remote controls and quickly stood on top of the machine. Caelum finally understood what he was doing as Arun stuck out his tongue in triumph.

"You idiot! What are you doing?" he protested, unbuckling himself from his seat in one swift motion. He raced over to the machine to grab Arun off of it. But, he was too late.

"Be back in time for dinner!" Arun chirped as he happily pressed the button on the remote control.

The machine whirred to life. In the blink of an eye Arun was gone, off to explore a brand new world.


	7. Of Thugs and Songs

This new world was as fascinating as Arun imagined it.

Bright sunlight filled the green forest, though the trees occasionally provided shade and cover. All around the wildlife flourished as birds chirped in honor of such a beautiful day. Arun rather liked it. It reminded him of the forests around Meryton where he loved to spend time. At least in the wild there weren't any humans to bother him. Whenever he wanted to be completely alone he would take a walk through the woods.

Arun found himself doing so here, meandering about underneath the trees and surrounded by nature. He took the chance to look around the world while things were peaceful. For all he knew Heartless could come out of nowhere. As much as he loved fighting, he wasn't some lean, mean fighting machine that could go twenty rounds with a freaking boxing kangaroo. He liked calm moments when he could take them. With this journey he was sure they were going to be far and in-between. 

Then again, he thought, maybe this endless fighting would help him get this body into shape. Arun looked down at his scrawny frame. While he was in an incredibly agile body, he didn't favor trading his strength for speed. Each of his attacks had no real power to do any damage. Some Heartless were easy to deal with. But, what if he ran into a huge powerful Heartless? He'd be dead in a second. So, maybe all this fighting would do him some good. He guessed at this point if he did run into a large Heartless he shouldn’t fight it on his own. 

Speaking of which, where were Caelum and Max? Shouldn't they have caught up by now?

Arun stopped, scanning the area for a sign of his traveling companions. He was certain Caelum was going to follow after him. That was his plan, anyway. Caelum didn't like getting off task of what they had to do. It would do the guy good to be spontaneous for once. It could be fun to explore a new place! Who knew what surprises were in store for them? Visiting a world was like finding a prize in a cereal box. They never knew what was inside. However, that was besides the point. Where in the worlds was he?

He shrugged. Oh, well. If Caelum didn't bother coming down to the world, that was fine. He had the remote control to teleport back to the Gummi ship nestled in one of his numerous pouches. He'll go back when he was good and ready.

With that thought in mind he resumed his exploration.

Arun continued to wander around aimlessly. Being such a nice day, the weather was quite mild. Flowers bloomed in several different bunches where he could see them. Small animals seemed to enjoy the day as well when a small bunny rabbit went hopping past. It was rather peaceful. As he hopped over a fallen tree in his path, he played with the idea of taking a nap. That sounded so good right now.

"WHOO-HOO!"

He tensed at the sudden exclamation echoing through the forest. His Keyblade flashed into his hand. What was that? It sounded close. He strained his ears for where it could have come from before he heard someone sobbing. Alarm bells rang in his head. Oh, no. Was someone in trouble? He had to help them!

He didn't normally like helping people who weren't his friends, but even he could not ignore anyone in serious distress. He’d get guilted about doing nothing if any of his friends found out.

Without another thought he ran to where the voice was coming from. It originated off to the side near some bushes. Since he was already so close, he could hear the sobbing stop for two voices to begin conversing. One sounded like a young girl's and the other a man's. The man seemed to be consoling the girl, but she sounded rather upset.

At this point Arun's alarm faded the moment the crying stopped to be replaced by a curious jingle. Why were there two people in the middle of the forest? Shouldn't they have been in a town or something instead of the great outdoors?

His curiosity won and he reached forward to part the bushes in front of him. Arun slowly poked his head out from the bush from where he was hearing the voices. Parting the green leaves, he found something unusual.

He saw two people-a man and a young girl a few years older than him. The man looked like one of those guys he saw trying to use their looks as their way in life, his short hair and trimmed face. He was average. It was the girl that was astonishing. She wore a purple dress with no shoes on and was rather pretty. Her hair, on the other hand, was...strange. She had ridiculously long blond hair that trailed behind her on the grass. It looked like spun gold the way the sun made it sparkle. Arun was surprised hair could grow that long. When he noticed the girl clinging to the man's back like a baby koala to its mother he had to bite back a grin.

"Um, hi. Am I, uh, interrupting something?" Arun asked, jokingly.

The girl shrieked, hiding behind the man and clinging to him tightly. The man just about choked from her grip around his neck.

"Hey, hey! Lighten up a bit. I need to breathe.” The man squirmed beneath her grasp.

“Oh, sorry." The girl let go of the man. Yet, she still hid behind him with her hands tightly gripping an iron cast frying pan, glancing at Arun warily. He could see she was scared of him, which really wasn't that unusual. It was a given when it came to him.

"Alright, then. Who're you, kid? What do you want?" the man asked, smoothly. He folded his arm to try and intimidate him. However, few things could ever do that.

"My name's Arun. I was actually looking around when I heard someone crying and yelling," he said. "Was that either of you?"

The girl's flushing face said it all.

"Hehe, sorry. That was me," she admitted. She cleared her throat. "I-I got a little excited."

"Oh, understatement," the man muttered. "So, you've found who was making all the joyous and outrageous noise. Is there anything else?"

"Actually, I was wondering if you've seen someone. He's has black spiky hair, gold eyes, really pale?" he asked, describing himself. His first priority was finding his Nobody. He mustn't ever forget to ask.

"No, don't think I've ever seen who you're looking for," the man answered. He sounded a bit bored by the conversation.

Hearing this, he slumped in disappointment. Of course. It wouldn't be as easy as he thought.

"Oh. Okay. Well, have you seen two-er, a friend of mine? His name's Max," he said. He was sure Caelum and Max had come down to the world and probably got lost or something. Since Caelum was being a jerkwad, he was not considering him a friend at the moment. Like hell he ever would. Why did he even consider him a friend? "Would you happen to have seen him at least?"

The man froze for a moment, eyes going wide at the name he gave. But, he quickly recovered and shook his head.

"Nope. Sorry. Haven't seen much around here. Now, if you'll excuse us, we need to get going. Very important things we need to do today." The man began to push the girl in a random direction. However, the girl slid under his arm to approach Arun.

"Strange...You don't look like a ruffian or a thug like Mother told me," she said, curiously. She tapped a finger to her lips, examining Arun. To his eternal shame, he noticed the girl was taller than him by an inch. Gods, he was short. Not to mention up close the girl was rather cute. Her big green eyes, full of innocence and curiosity, was kind of pretty. Although, no one's eyes could compare to Arty's when she got excited about new inventions. He stopped his thoughts there.

"Me? Does this look like the face of a ruffian or a thug?" Arun asked in mock-shock. He pointed at his undeniably cute face Arty, Aerith, and Yuffie already commented on. In the back of his mind he was admonishing himself. Even with his looks, he had a dark heart. Plus, he wasn't cute, damn it! Most of the girls loved his previous face. He got a lot of love letters from girls back home because of his bad boy status. What would they say about him now in this body?

"I guess not. In fact you don't look much older than me. Actually, you remind me of a cute bunny rabbit." The girl giggled. Even more so when she saw his comically horrified look. "My name's Rapunzel, and that's Flynn. You said you were looking for someone?"

“Yeah, I'm looking for my friend. We got separated while we were looking around here. We're actually new to the area, so I got a little lost. I'm not sure where I am right now." He made all of this up, of course. Arty and Caelum warned him other worlds didn't know there were any other worlds. Something about 'maintaining the world order' or something.

"That's terrible. There's all sorts of bad things around here. You shouldn't be alone," Rapunzel said in sympathy. She sincerely looked upset about his situation. That shocked Arun. How innocent was this girl? Then, her eyes lit up. "I know! Why don't you travel with me and Flynn for a little while? If you come with us, you might run into your friend."

"Huh?" the males echoed in disbelief.

"Yeah! I mean, just for a little while until you find him,” she quickly explained. "You see, Flynn and I are going to go see the lanterns in the sky that come out every year. If you travel with us for a bit, you might find your friend. I'm sure you'll run into him."

"No, no, no, no! I don't think that's a good idea," Flynn immediately denied. He grabbed Rapunzel's shoulder (the one not occupied by the green chameleon on her shoulder), leaning in to whisper in her ear. He went as far as using his mouth to cover his mouth. What he didn't know was Arun had good hearing. "We don't really know this kid. He could be a ruffian or a thug like your mother warned you about. What if he decides to act all nice then get you when you're back's turned?"

"Actually, I wouldn't do that. If I'm gonna stab someone in the back, I'm going to do it to their face," Arun commented, loudly. He smirked as Flynn flinched at his abysmal effort to convince Rapunzel. He shrugged. "It's not really an honorable thing to do, anyway, backstabbing. Besides, I don't hurt girls. That's another thing I find lower than scum. You don't hurt an innocent girl for no reason." He paused. "Unless she hits you first for no reason. Then, it's okay to hurt her."

"See? He's not so bad," Rapunzel agreed.

"Not bad? He just admitted he could hurt you!" Flynn exclaimed.

"Hey, I said if she hits me first.” Arun eyed the frying pan in Rapunzel's hand. He knew the deadly power behind one of those. "Are you going to hit me?"

"No! I wouldn't hit you with it. You seem like a nice guy." She turned to Flynn with wide, begging eyes. "Please, Flynn?"

"Yeah, please, Flynn?" He mimicked her expression. He normally didn't do this, but he felt like being annoying. Besides, Rapunzel was onto something.

With two wide eyes, both green and blue, staring back at him like a kicked puppy dog Flynn didn't last long. He gave a long sigh of frustration, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Okay. Fine. The kid can travel with us for a bit."

"Awesome!" Arun whooped. Good. He was traveling with people who actually knew the area! Now, he didn't need stop his exploration.

"Well, I guess we should get going, shouldn't we? It'd be best to avoid any 'ruffians' or 'thugs,' though." He suddenly brightened up. Arun got a bit wary at that. Arty usually had the same expression when she was struck with inspiration or a new idea. "Say, are you hungry? I know a great place for lunch."

"Where?" Rapunzel asked, smiling.

"Oh, don't you worry. You'll know it when you smell it," he said. Flynn grabbed the edge of Rapunzel's frying pan before dragging her off into the forest. Arun trailed after them, frowning. Something about Flynn made him wonder if he had any ulterior motives. Goodness knows, Arun did it plenty of times himself.

Oh, who cared? Free food! Arun couldn't deny a free meal when he got one. Who was he to try and wonder what Flynn was planning? As long as he got food, the man could do whatever he wanted. Shrugging, he followed them like a begging dog.

 

 

The three walked through the forest for awhile with Flynn leading the way. They walked in silence. Rapunzel was busy looking at everything around them, especially when she saw some flowers or a little forest critter. The way she acted made Arun a bit curious. Honestly, the girl acted like she's never been outside in her life! Judging by how frightened she was when he appeared and her mother warning her about ruffians and thugs, she didn't get out much. What he was curious about was her hair.

He looked at Rapunzel's long blonde hair trailing behind her. With the sunlight hitting it through the trees it seemed like her hair was spun from gold itself. How did she manage to get it so long? And, how did she wash it? It looked a hassle to shampoo and condition especially when most of it was being dragged on the dirty ground. Arty would sometimes get mad about her hair, saying it was impossible to deal with and incredibly annoying. That didn't stop her from having long hair. Not as long as Rapunzel's, but still pretty long.

"Hey, Rapunzel?" he spoke up.

"Yes?" she responded politely, glancing over her shoulder to look at him. Her little chameleon peered back at him as well.

"Should you be dragging your hair around like that? Won't it get dirty?" As if to make a point, he bent down and plucked a leaf out of the bunch.

"Oh. Right. I guess it will." At this she sounded worried. She quickly crouched down and picked up her trail of hair. Arun decided to be a nice guy and helped bunch her hair up in her arms into a pile. She smiled in appreciation. "Thank you."

"No problem. Just a question, though," he added. "Why do you keep your hair this long? Wouldn't it be easier for you to cut it and not worry about it like this?"

It was an innocent question, but the frightened look overcoming the warmth in Rapunzel's eyes made it seem like he asked if he could eat her chameleon for breakfast.

"Oh, um, my mother wouldn't like it if I cut my hair," she stammered. "She thought I look better with long hair. So, she never cut it."

"You've never cut your hair?" he asked in disbelief. She shook her head. "You're kidding! Not even once? Geez, no wonder it's so long. I mean, long hair is cute and all, but this is a bit extreme."

Rapunzel laughed nervously. "Yeah. I suppose."

She ended the conversation by turning away from him and to Flynn. Arun narrowed his eyes. Okay, he could understand why her mother would like her daughter to keep her hair long. But, seriously? Never cut it once? What was wrong with her mother? Not to mention the way Rapunzel spoke was like her mother's words were absolute. Was she that controlling? He shook his head. He would never understand some parent-child relationships. Letting their parents control their life…how stupid. It made him glad sometimes he never had folks of his own. At least he got to do whatever he wanted.

"So, Flynn? How much further? I'm getting pretty hungry," she said.

"Now, don't worry. I know it's around here somewhere," Flynn answered. He walked out to where a trail had appeared. It was clearly a road as there were wooden railings to keep travelers from getting lost in the forest. They followed after him. Taking a moment to glance around, he saw something to the side and smiled. "Ah, there it is! The Snuggly Duckling."

Arun and Rapunzel followed his line of sight. There was a small cottage building nestled on the roots of a tree, giving it a homely appearance. It looked pretty innocent, what with the name and everything. Heck, there was even a sign with a carving of a cute little yellow duck! But, the more Arun looked at it the more he felt like it was a place where gangs and bandits gathered. He didn't know. He just had this feeling. Once again, he waved it off. Whatever. Free food! He was hungry.

"Don't worry. It's very quaint. Perfect for you," Flynn reassured Rapunzel, who began smiling. "Don't want you scaring and giving up on this whole endeavor, now do we?"

"Well, I do like ducklings," she said, shyly.

"Yay!" Arun quirked his eyebrow at that. Wasn't that the most sarcastic thing he heard that day?

The trio proceeded to walk to the entrance. Flynn opened the door, allowing the two to enter first. Arun expected to find a little place filled with travelers consisting of merchants and some families inside with a friendly atmosphere. What he found instead was a place resembling what he would find in a bar. Smelled like one, too, with the ripe scent of old alcohol and cigarettes. It was filled with the shadiest characters he had ever seen from men with eye patches to missing body parts. With little to no lights inside except for a roaring fire in a fireplace the scare factor was an element he had to heed. They were all bigger than him, and when Flynn slammed the door open all glaring eyes were focused on them. Rapunzel gasped in horror and fright.

"Garcon, your finest table, please,” Flynn said cheerfully like they were at the swankiest place ever.

"Flynn, what the hell!" Arun growled as Rapunzel began hyperventilating, brandishing her frying pan with shaking arms and allowing her hair to fall back to the ground.. The girl was terrified! Even he wouldn’t dare to bring a girl here. This wasn't a place for young women.

“It's fine.” Flynn grinned and seized Rapunzel by the shoulders, forcing her to step further inside. Arun trailed after to try and grab her. But, he was unable to with the larger men crowding around them with enough space to let them through. He inhaled deeply. "You smell that? Take a deep breath through the nose. Really let that seep in. What are you getting? 'Cause to me it part man-smell and the other part is  _really_  bad man-smell. I don't know why, but all I get is the color brown. Any thoughts?"

Rapunzel was unable to respond as she suddenly gasped in surprise and pain. A man had grabbed her trailing hair and held it in his hands. She squeaked and pulled her hair as far away as possible. Arun growled, dragging her hair out of his grasp.

"That's a  _lot_  of hair," the man observed, allowing the golden hair to slip through his fingers like silk.

"Then, don't touch it,” Arun hissed. He managed to get most of the hair bunched in his arms and back to Rapunzel. His arms were shaking from how heavy the whole thing was.

"She's growing it out. Is that blood on your mustache?" Flynn suddenly asked. He pointed at his face. "Goldie, look at this! Look at all this blood in his mustache. Sir, that's a lot of blood.”

"Not helping, Flynn.” Arun was getting angrier by the second. He knew Flynn had some ulterior motive. He knowingly brought her there to scare her. Why, he didn't know. All he knew was that he was succeeding. This wasn't funny at all when the poor girl was frightened to death. She looked like a cornered animal as she started backing away with her hair wrapped in her arms protectively.

She let out out another squeak the moment she bumped into the back of another scarier man, who began growling at being touched. Her breaths began to pick up. It looked like she was about to faint from the overwhelming panic. Arun quickly stepped close to her so she could hide behind his back, though that didn't really help with his height. It was the thought that counted and Rapunzel appeared grateful for it. He glared at anyone who dared look their way. Most did considering how unsettling he was.

"Say, you don't look so good," Flynn commented at her pale face. "Maybe we should get you home. Call it a day. Probably better off. This is a five-star joint, after all. And if you can't handle this place, then maybe you should get back to your tower."

"Five-star!? Gimme a break. This is a freakin' bar. This is the worst place to bring a girl!" Arun shouted. Okay, that was it. Flynn was not helping at all here. Playing a joke on a girl is one thing, but scaring her to death? It had to be the most tasteless practical joke ever. He grabbed Rapunzel's arm and proceeded to drag her towards the door. "C'mon, we're leaving!"

"B-But-" she stuttered through chattering teeth.

"No, this isn't a place you should be in. We'll find somewhere else to eat.” Arun was about to take a step out the door when it suddenly closed on him. He stumbled back in surprise. A large man with an antler helmet gave Arun and Rapunzel a dirty look before settling on Flynn right behind them. He glanced at a poster on the back of the door, then narrowed his eyes at the suave man.

"Is this you?"

Flynn gazed at the poster for a moment. Upon closer inspection, Arun saw it was a poster of him with the words 'Wanted' in bold at the top. Although, part of the face was being covered by the man’s hand. He reached a hand to the poster and it away to uncover the full image. He raised an eyebrow at the gigantic and ridiculous nose. It was Flynn, all right. Well, sans the nose.

"Oh, now they're just being mean," Flynn said sounding a tad hurt.

"It's him, all right," another thug with a hook confirmed. He gave an evil smirk as he creeped upon Flynn and grabbed him. "Greto, go find some guards. That reward's gonna buy me a new hook."

Flynn gasped when a hand plucked him away from that thug and into the arms of another wearing a helmet. The helmet reminded him of a knight he saw in a movie once. If he said, 'none shall pass,' then he was gonna start laughing.

"I could use the money," the black knight said.

"No, I do!"

"I need it!"

What ensued next was rather strange. All of the men inside the establishment began to snatch Flynn around like a rag doll, shouting they wanted the reward money. Arun was content to stand back. After all, this was payback for trying to scare Rapunzel. If he had some popcorn, he could sit back and enjoy the show. Unfortunately, she was the chivalrous type and she tried to reach Flynn as well.

"Hey, stop!" Rapunzel, the small girl she was, tried to break through the barrier of hulking men grabbing Flynn's limbs like they were about to tear him apart. When she wasn't able to get any closer she began to hit the men to little effect. "Leave him alone. Give me back my guide.”

No matter what she said the men ignored her. Arun took a look at her frustrated expression and decided to take pity on her. Sighing, he summoned his keyblade. When they held Flynn in the air and were about to knock him out Arun walked over to the man about to punch the daylights out of him and threw it at the man's head. It smacked the man on his bald head and ricocheted off into a wall where it embedded itself. A second later it disappeared and reappeared in his hand. The bar fell completely silent at his bold action, turning to stare at him in disbelief. The bald man glared at him as if he could tear him limb from limb through sight alone. Arun stood there with a smirk and gave Rapunzel the chance to speak.

“Put him down!” She yelled in the silence. The man turned his eyes to her and she sighed in frustration. "Okay, I don't know where I am and I need him," she gestured to Flynn, "to see the lanterns because I've been dreaming about them my entire life. Find your humanity! Haven't any of you ever had a dream?"

The man continued glaring. He reached behind him to pull out the wicked sharp axe on his back. Arun started to panic and ran to Rapunzel, standing in front of her in a fighting stance. He might be smaller and weaker, but that didn't mean he knew how to beat people down. Although his size made him a litte scared. As the man approached them, he forced the two to back up until Arun bumped into Rapunzel where her back hit a barrel. He clenched his fist and was about to bring down his keyblade when the man spoke again.

"I...had a dream once," he admitted, his anger fading. His expression was more vulnerable somehow. Without looking he threw his axe to the side. It hit the wall, skimming the hairs on a man sitting by the fireplace. He pulled back the accordion in his hands with a high note and suddenly began playing. Arun's eyebrows shot up in disbelief and even higher as the bald thug started singing. " _I'm malicious, mean, and scary. My sneer could curdle dairy and violence-wise my hands are not the cleanest._   _But despite my evil look and my temper and my hook, I've always yearned to be a concern pianist!"_

He wandered over to the old piano on a small stage with Rapunzel following him. The moment he started to sing her fear ebbed away. Instead, she was curious. He sat down and started playing it with expertise. Although, Arun had to wonder how he could play so well when one of his hands was a hook and couldn't play a chord. But, overall, he stood where he was dumbfounded. What the hell?

" _Can't you see me on the stage performin' Mozart?_   _Ticklin' the ivories 'til they gleam?_   _Yup, I'd rather be called deadly for my killer show tune medley!_  Thank you!" he sang to everyone clapping at his performance. "' _Cause way deep down I've got a dream._ ”

As everyone broke into song for some odd reason, he couldn't help but wonder what alternate universe he stepped into. No one randomly broke into song like this! What was going on? Arun, in his shock, took a seat on one of the bar stools watching everyone begin to sing out their dreams. Huh, for a group of thugs they could carry a tune pretty well. If only the same could be said for Caelum. The guy couldn't carry a tune to save his life. He looked at Rapunzel to see she was smiling. At least she wasn't scared anymore.

He wasn't scared either. In fact he burst out laughing as they asked Flynn what about him.

"I'm sorry. What?" he asked.

"Yeah. What's your dream?" one of the thugs asked, reaching up to take down Flynn from where he was hanging.

"Oh, no, no, boys. I don't sing," Flynn said, adamantly.

But, with the various weapons in his face he was forced to sing. Arun laughed as he even gave a little dance on top of the bar counter.

_"I've got dreams like you-No, really! Just must less...touchy-feely. They mainly happen somewhere warm and sunny. On an island that I own, tanned and rested and alone, surrounded by enormous piles of money_!"

"C'mon, Arun! Your turn,” Rapunzel said excitedly. She skipped over to him and latched into his arm.

Arun stopped and stared at her. What?

"Uh, I don't have a dream," he answered bluntly.

"Oh, come on. You must have one."

"Nope." Arun wasn't the type to have a dream. Sure, he did when he was younger. Not anymore as he found dreams were crushed under reality. Now, he didn't really have a dream.

"Really? You don't have even a little one?"

He took a moment to think. Hm...Did he even have a dream? One of his dreams was to be rich and live well off. Obviously, that wasn't a good dream to have as judging by their reaction to Flynn's. They started flinging the guy around the room the moment he mentioned it. And his other dream...

"Well, I might have a dream," he admitted.

"Then, tell us,” Rapunzel urged. She gave him a shove towards the thugs.

He turned to see the thugs looking at him in expectation. Arun thought for a moment, then shrugged. Ah, what the hell. Everyone else was doing it. Might as well. He pulled himself on the top of the stool, clearing his throat.

" _There's a lot of me I don't know, a part that seems to go_ ," he sang. " _My memory from a young age is a bit fuzzy. Some day I want to see of the person I could be! And see if I have any family!_ "

He jumped down and pulled Rapunzel's hands. She laughed as he twirled her and danced around the room with her in his arms.

" _I've got a dream! I've a dream! But it's all I got, that's what it seems! Of when I laugh and moan, I've always been alone! If only I could go and find my family!_ "

Arun was about to go on and continue singing until he caught sight of someone at the door. He froze when he saw the door to the bar was open. Leaning against the doorway, Caelum raised an eyebrow at what he was doing with a smirk on his face while Max stood next to him, using his hand to cover his wide grin. Both of them were highly amused with what they were seeing. Heat rushed to his cheeks uncomfortably. Oh. Well. This was awkward.

" _I've got a dream! I've got a dream!_ " Rapunzel sang, interrupting his mortified thoughts. He snapped out of it and ducked his into the crowd of thugs, desperately trying to gather himself again. " _I just want to see the floating lanterns gleam! And with every passing hour I'm so glad I left my tower! Like all you lovely folks I've got a dream_!"

" _She's got a dream! She's got a dream! They've got a dream! We've got a dream! So, our differences ain't really that extreme! We're one big teeeaaammm!_ " Everyone began to sing with much energy. Even Arun reluctantly lent his voice. " _Call us brutal, sick, sadistic, and grotesquely optimistic. 'Cause way down deep inside we've got a dream! Yes, way down deep inside I've got a drreeeaaammm!_  Yeah!"

By the time they all (finally!) finished singing, Arun was completely embarrassed while everyone around him cheered happily. What had he just done? He lost his sanity for a few minutes. Never in his life would he suddenly break out into song, sharing one of his forgotten dreams. What prompted him to follow this insanity? He glanced at Rapunzel chatting happily with the thugs with no fear at all. Oh. That's right.

"So," said a voice right next to him. He jumped at the voice. Whipping his head to the side, he saw Caelum smirking triumphantly. Oh, dear. "You've got a dream?"

"Shut up!" Arun growled. He would have been angrier, but he was humiliated. Someone kill him now. He was never going to live this down. "How did you guys find me?"

"We didn't. We were looking around when we suddenly heard singing," Max laughed. “Not bad. I didn't know you could sing like that."

"I dunno. Don't you usually sing...lower than that?" Caelum observed.

"New voice. Duh," Arun deadpanned. He already noticed while he was singing his voice could reach the notes his previous one couldn't. He liked how he sang in his lower voice, but this new one fit him, too.

"Oh, you mean the high, squeaky voice you've got now?"

"At least I can sing, you deaf-toned bastard."

"Yeah, with a bunch of thugs in harmony."

Caelum and Max glanced at one another before bursting into laughter once more. Arun stood there, glaring at them with hot cheeks. Oh, yeah. He was never going to live this down. They would keep reminding him of this moment for as long as he lived.

 

 

His moment of utter mortification ended when the door slammed open once more. The man from before, Greta, rushed in panting but extremely happy.

"I've found the guards," he announced, breathlessly.

Arun tensed, whipping his head to Rapunzel in time to see Flynn come and drag her behind the bar. He knew Flynn was a wanted man. This wasn't going to be good. Flynn had good timing, because not a second after he ducked behind it three men entered the tavern. They were dressed in red shirts and golden armor. A symbol of a sun was on the breastplates they wore. They weren't as intimidating as the thugs, yet they still held power.

"Where's Rider? Where is he?" the middle guard with a mustache demanded from the crowd. He pushed his way into the bar, using the sharp blade in his hand as leverage. Everyone backed away from him. He quickly scanned the room. "I know he's in here. Find him! Turn the place upside down if you have to!"

"What's going on?" Max whispered, watching the guards turn over tables and chairs.

"They're looking for someone," Arun muttered back. He had to be careful not to say Flynn's name. Otherwise, they'd know he knew the guy.

_Sorry, Flynn. Can't do much to help ya now_ , he thought. He was slightly okay with Flynn getting arrested. Whatever he did he got what he deserved. But, if he drags Rapunzel into this mess then they were going to have to talk. He looked around the room. With the guards at the front there was no other exit. How were they going to get out?

"Well, it's not any of our concern," Caelum said with a shrug. "Whoever they're looking for we don't know'em."

He walked towards the front door again. Arun and Max reluctantly followed him. Quietly, the three opened the door and began to slip out. However, Caelum came to a halt and Arun and Max hit his back.

"Hey! What the f-" The curse died on Arun's lips. The three boys didn't move when they saw black eyes glaring down at them from the snout of a white stallion. "Oh..."

The stallion looked as pissed as Caelum did earlier. With powerful hooves and a well muscled body he could crush their ribs in a heartbeat. Thankfully, the stallion instead shoved the three out of the way as he entered the bar. The three boys stared at the door in silent shock.

"Well...You don't see that everyday," Max commented.

"This is the weirdest day I've ever had," Arun stated. Really, meeting a girl with long hair, entering a bar full of thugs only for them to break into song, and now this? Well, there was one good thing that came out of this. "At least we haven't run into heartless."

His relief was short-lived by the fireball sent down from above. The three scattered to let the projectile hit the ground where they once stood. Arun rolled back up, summoning his keyblade in a flash. Looking up, he wasn't surprised to find heartless surrounded them. Caelum shot Arun a dark look.

"You and your big mouth!" he yelled.

"How was I supposed to know they'd be here!?" Arun yelled back. He swiped at the four small shadows trying to surround them. They went up in black smoke on contact with the blade.

"Of course they'd be here! They follow your damn keyblade everywhere!"

"Guys, let's not fight with each other, 'kay?" Max grunted, raising his shield to block the flamethrower spewing from the candle of a heartless. This one was round with what looked to be a lantern as its main body. Beady yellow eyes looked down at them while the candle inside its lantern body fed fire up to its mouth and sprayed the fire down at Max. On the small candle itself there was a tiny heart emblem on it. There were several of these floating around waiting to burn them.

Arun threw his keyblade at the one attacking Max, flipping to the side to avoid yet another fireball sent his way. From the corner of his eye, he saw Caelum send a ball of ice at the one that attacked him and using the end of his staff to keep the grounded heartless away. His weapon hit true and sliced right through the lantern heartless. His keyblade reappearing once more in his grasp (he still tried to figure out why and how it did that) he went ahead and lunged at the heartless nearly surrounding Caelum. Once those were gone, they were alone once more.

"Shit! Heartless are here," he cursed. So, everyone was right. No world was safe with the Heartless around. He knew the Heartless were a serious threat, but not to this degree.

"We can't leave this world now with the Heartless here. We have to seal the keyhole before they find it!" Max exclaimed, panicked.

Arun's ears perked up at the new term. "Keyhole?"

"It's the heart of the world. One of the duties of a keyblade wielder is to seal worlds so Heartless won't try to take it. By sealing the keyhole to this world, we can prevent it from falling into darkness," Caelum briefly explained.

"Really?" Huh, he didn't know that. Why didn't anyone tell him this sooner? Now, he had more of a reason to go across worlds. He didn't want anyone else to go through the experience of losing their home and friends like he did. "Okay, so we find the keyhole and stop the Heartless. How do we find it?"

"That's the thing. We don't know." He sighed upon Arun's incredulous eyes. "Yeah. When Sora did the whole 'keyhole' sealing thing last year they were in places you'd never expect. It can be anywhere here."

"So, we have to look around until it eventually pops up?"

"Not really. I mean, your keyblade will react to it and the keyhole will appear then. Until that happens, we have to wait."

"Oh. Okay." Arun wasn't sure how to react to that. So, he had another duty to fulfill while searching for his body? Geez, maybe having a keyblade wasn't as cool as it sounded. It was darn useful, but right now he didn't know what to think. What were they supposed to do while they were here?

"We need to find Rider," a deep voice said from behind Arun.

Arun glanced over his shoulder. Standing by the side of the tavern were two identical burly men. Twins, he supposed by the same red hair. One had an eyepatch, though. They were scary, yes, but they were both glaring at a poster of Flynn.

"He'll get what's coming to him. I'm sure of that," one of them growled.

Both of them stalked back into the forest. As Arun stared at their backs, he had a bad feeling all of a sudden. It was obvious from the hatred in their eyes they weren't fond of Flynn. And from what they said they were out to get him. He's said that line to himself many times in the past when people wronged him somehow. If so, then Flynn was in danger. This wouldn't have been an issue if Rapunzel wasn't with him.

_Rapunzel!_

Arun began panicking now. In the matter of an hour he had grown fond of the cheerful and friendly girl. That was remarkable unto itself. She was innocent and friendly and so damn happy! She was everything he lost. She even made him sing for Light's sake! He didn't want her to get hurt.

With the thought of Rapunzel getting hurt because of Flynn's wrongdoings he had no other thought as he ran after the two thugs. Caelum and Max yelled after him before he heard them quickly follow. He narrowed his eyes in determination. No way was he letting her get hurt.

_Hold on, Rapunzel, Flynn! I'm comin'!_

So, Arun ran through the forest for the first time doing something good for someone else. It wouldn’t be the last time either.


	8. Festival of Lights

There were few instances in Arun's life when he realized maybe he should have thought things through before rushing into action. This was one of those times.

"I hate you," Caelum said venomously, ducking under the branch of an overgrown tree.

"I know," Arun drawled from behind him. He resisted the urge to sigh.

"Just wanted to let you know that."

"I think he got the message after the first thirty times.” Max chuckled weakly, following behind the two boys.

"Just wanted to remind him."

_Like you need to. After five years, I think I got the message,_  Arun thought. Really, he didn't need a reminder of how much Caelum hated him. It wasn't necessary and, after hours of saying it, it got old pretty fast.

For a couple hours now Arun, Caelum, and Max wandered around the everlasting forest of this world. Since the day before, they wandered around aimlessly after Arun realized two hours in he had no idea where he would find Flynn and Rapunzel. He assumed the two took some hidden escape route inside the tavern to escape the guards. And as an escape route it had to end somewhere close. He thought it would be easy enough to find. Unfortunately, it wasn't. So, Arun got them lost.

And so began Caelum's declaration of hatred. He repeated the line multiple times even after they set up camp for the night (Max kept a camping set on him for such occasions. Arun only wondered how it fit in his pockets) and throughout the early morning upon awakening. Fighting several Heartless every now and then fueled his declarations. Arun was surprised at this point Caelum hadn't forced him back onto the Gummi ship yet. He supposed it had to do with the 'keyhole' issue.

Now, there they were wandering around a forest with destination in mind.

"Do you think we'll find Rapunzel?" asked Max, jumping over a log. Arun already told them about the girl with long golden hair. To be honest he was interested in meeting her after hearing her sing.

"I hope so. She doesn't seem like the type of girl who can handle herself," Arun said. They came across a tiny stream and he hopped over the rocks with ease.

"Other than the frying pan, I don't see how she could protect herself," Caelum commented. He took one long stride over the stream. Max copied his example.

"Hey, frying pans make good weapons. Remember that one time at school I used one to beat up a guy?" Arun snickered at the memory.

"What? How did that happen?" Max wondered.

"It was during Home Economics period, the only class me, Arun, and Arty shared," Caelum said, beginning his story. "We had to cook an omelet for a grade. Our school's small and cheap so there weren't many frying pans around to use. People had to get into groups just to use one. For our group Arun was the one to get it in the front of the room, but he was late. By the time he reached for one, there was only one left. At the same time another boy, who was a notorious bully, also reached for it. Arun and the boy grabbed it at the same time and started fighting over it in a tug-of-war match. In the end Arun managed to get it, but the boy tackled him before he could get away. They started wrestling on the floor. Arun won the fight when he used the frying pan to smack him across the face. The boy ended up getting a broken nose." Max made a face, rubbing his nose. "Yeah, I know. You know what's worse? Arun just stood up, walked over to our work table, and started cooking like nothing happened. He didn't even apologize."

"Man. That's...messed up. Shouldn’t you have said you were sorry?” Max questioned Arun.

"No. Why should I? He didn't ask me for it politely," Arun retorted. He peered to the side where there was an opening in the trees. In the distance he saw the forest ended by a few cliffs. Further away they had a magnificent view of a kingdom surrounded by an everlasting sea. It was quite a flourishing city as a single bridge connected it to the main land. From what he could see large ships sailed in and out of the harbor, some bearing the image of a sun.

"Seriously? You broke a guy's nose with a frying pan because he didn't say please?"

He hummed a confirmation. “Hey, do you think we might find Rapunzel around here?"

"Why do you ask that?" asked Caelum. He took the moment to survey the area.

"Because I'm pretty sure Flynn meant to take her to that kingdom over there." He nodded to the city. "If that's their destination, they should be around here somewhere."

"Are you sure he’s taking her there?"

"Positive."

"So, where could he-Gah!" Max suddenly yelped.

Both Arun and Caelum turned on their heels in time to see Max slam to the ground as a white blur charged past him, knocking him over. Arun looked closer to see the blur was a horse. The horse from yesterday to be exact.

Arun managed to whirl his head around in time to see the white stallion rush towards a tree before skidding to a halt. Peering closer, he saw the horse step over a familiar figure lying on the ground curled up.

"Isn't that...?" Max asked. Although, they all knew the answer.

They got the confirmation when the horse whinnied and chomped on the foot of Flynn Rider resting on the ground, dragging him off. Flynn screamed, his fingers clawing on the ground to gain a leverage against the large beast. From the small mound of golden hair curled up by the tree's roots, Rapunzel shot up. She quickly made her way to Flynn where she managed to grab him. The horse and girl played tug-of-war with Flynn and eventually Rapunzel was the winner because Flynn's boot popped off. She quickly stepped in between the two before the horse charged.

Arun watched the entire scene in amusement, leaning against the trunk of another different tree. Rapunzel managed to calm the angered horse and began comforting it. To the surprise of everyone the horse soaked up the love and attention she cooed out. It made him smile. She was a one-of-a-kind girl he didn't often see. The first girl he knew of who was different from the rest was Arty. No wonder Arun began to like her.

"Wow…she’s good," Max commented with an impressed whistle.

"Yeah. She's a special girl, all right," Arun chuckled.

Caelum rose an eyebrow. "Oh? Is the great Arun starting to become fond of a girl he just met?”

"Shut up. Plus, look at her!" He gestured to how she was getting both the horse and Flynn to call a truce using her charms. "Would you be able to say no to a face like that?"

"I'd put more effort into saying no. But, maybe," Caelum agreed.

"Told ya so." Arun straightened back up. He started to walk over to the group wearing a large smile on his face. When he met Rapunzel's eyes he waved. "Yo.”

“You’re here!” Rapunzel rushed past the horse and Flynn with arms wide open. Nearing Arun, she wrapped her arms around him in a quick hug and let go with a matching smile. "I'm glad you're all right. I’m sorry we left you back at the Snuggly Duckling. Things got out of hand."

"Nah, it’s cool. Besides, it wasn't your fault. It was Flynn's for pulling you into his mess," he answered, shooting a quick glare towards him.

"Oh, c'mon. What is this? Pick-on-Flynn day?" Flynn asked, exasperated.

"Dunno. If it was that, it'd be a national holiday."

"It's not Flynn's fault. He's actually a nice guy." Rapunzel peered past Arun's shoulder to where Caelum and Max were some distance behind him. They did this to be polite and until they were introduced. "Oh, are these your friends you were looking for?"

"Yeah. This is my friend, Max," he said, waving to Max. He gave a friendly smile. He turned to Caelum and scowled. "And our acquaintance, Caelum. Ignore that guy. He's kind of a jerk."

"Takes one to know one," Caelum shot back. He stepped forward with a hand held out while he wore a smile. "Hi, nice to meet you.”

"Nice to meet you, too," Rapunzel replied, warmly. "And you, too, Max."

"Wait, this is your friend?" Flynn suddenly asked, blinking. He glanced between Max and the horse. "So, you don't know this horse at all?"

"Why would I know it?” Arun was confused by the question. What did he mean by that?

"Oh, I see now," Rapunzel hummed, thoughtfully. "Eugene thought the friend you were looking for was Maximus. They both have the same nickname, so he thought you were working together with Maximus to arrest him."

"Hold up! Eugene? Who's that?"

"That's Flynn's name. Flynn's kind of an alias he has. He doesn't want to ruin his reputation with his real name," she stage-whispered.

Arun's jaw dropped. He stared at Flynn, who was beginning to flush, strangely. His real name was Eugene? When the shock wore off he couldn't help but begin to laugh in his face.

“Your name is Eugene?" he laughed. His side began to hurt from how hard he was laughing. "Geez, no wonder you go by Flynn Rider. Seriously, what kind of name is Eugene? When I hear that name I think of a nerd with glasses.”

A slap upside his head managed to get him to stop.

"Talk about rude," Caelum scolded. "At least he has a name he can go by."

Arun straightened up, slapping Caelum's hand away.

"Hey, I happen to like the name the caretakers gave me. It suits me."

"They came up with it on the spot and you know it." He gave his attention back to Rapunzel and Flynn with a roll of his eyes. "Arun isn't really his name. He can't remember the name his parents gave him, so he had to be given one."

“Shut your mouth!“ Arun yelled, outraged. What was he telling them? He can't tell random people his back story!

Caelum didn't look ashamed at the highly personal information he was giving. He shrugged.

"You made fun of someone else's name. It's only fair they know the truth."

"How is that fair? I can tell them if I wanted to!"

"Technically, you did. Remember you sang out your dream yesterday?"

"That...makes sense." Max looked at the sky for a moment, thinking. "You said something about your memory being fuzzy and finding your family. Is that what you meant?"

"Yes, that's what I meant. I'm an orphan. Go ahead! Shout it to the world. Because, I could really care less. I don't care if I have any parents. I'm fine with the person I am today."

He could really give a damn about finding his parents. He wasn't some stupid kid, who kept hoping his family would come back for him. Oh, he knew better now. He was over it. That ship sailed a long time ago and he could give a damn anymore. The only reason he mentioned it was his dream was because it was a childhood dream. Like he told Rapunzel, he didn't have a dream. He preferred to live in the present, not look forward to the future.

Everyone had the common sense not to comment further on the subject. Not even that damn Caelum said anything more. Thank goodness. But, the atmosphere was suddenly uncomfortable following his outburst. To save it he smiled at Rapunzel.

"So, what's this I hear about a birthday? Is it yours?" he asked.

She nodded. "Today's my eighteenth birthday. I wanted to go see the lanterns that go up in the sky tonight. That's why Eugene's taking me."

"Eighteen's an important age," Arun hummed. "And, since it's your birthday..."

He walked behind her, grabbing her shoulders. He pushed her towards an opening at the forest's edge where it met a cliff. Parting the bushes in front of them, he watched her gasp in amazement at the sight of the beautiful kingdom by the sea. From where they were, they could hear the far tone ringing of a bell in the morning.

"Happy Birthday, Rapunzel! Get ready for the best day of your life,” he announced. He grabbed her hand and dragged her off towards the bridge. She began laughing, running behind him.

"Hey, guys! Wait up,” Max called, running after the two. He had a smile on his face.

Caelum shook his head, smiling fondly, and followed after them with Flynn and Maximus right behind him.

Arun dragged her through the forest rather quickly. She matched his pace well considering she was barefoot. How could her feet not hurt when she stepped on sticks and stones? Whatever the case, neither of them slowed until they reached the end of the foot where they halted at the foot of the bridge.

"Wow..." She breathed. Her eyes sparkled at the magnificence of the kingdom in front of her. Various men and women were walking along the bridge with goods of all sorts. It was truly a sight to see, especially with the sound of music drifting nearby. "This is amazing!"

"Yeah. It is, isn't it?" Arun admired the liveliness of the city. Everything was so bright and happy. It was nothing like the boring stale Meryton or the beautiful but dangerous Hollow Bastion. It was like the people here had nothing to worry about. "By the way, you never told me why you wanted to come here. You mentioned seeing lanterns in the sky yesterday?"

"Yes. Well, you know how today's my birthday?" she began as they slowly walked towards the entrance of the city.

He nodded.

"Before yesterday, I've never been outside." Rapunzel raised a shaking hand to brush a lock of sunshine hair behind her ear. "For as long as I can remember I've lived inside a tower with my mother. She forbid me from going outside, saying it was for my own protection."

"What? That's insane.” How could her own mother keep her inside a tower with almost contact with the outside world? "What's so important about you she never let you out?"

"Um, it's a long story. What I  _can_  tell you now is it's about my hair. It's...special."

"How so?"

"Let me put it this way. Being kept inside my tower is the least terrible thing that could happen if some people knew about my hair," she explained, rubbing her hand on her opposite forearm. Her green eyes were wide, glinting with fear.

Arun took a moment to think back to all of her actions since he met her. The skittishness, the panic every time someone even mentioned or touched her hair, the accusations of thugs and ruffians...He gazed down at her long hair. It was like a trail of spun gold leading to the treasure that was Rapunzel herself.

"Oh, okay. So, if you haven't stepped outside your tower 'til yesterday, what changed?" he asked. He didn't want to push the subject of why her hair was special. She didn't seem ready to tell him.

"For my birthday this year I wanted to see the lanterns that float up in the sky every year. Before, I thought they were stars." She giggled and smiled, returning back to normal. "Now that I'm older I decided to work up the courage to ask my mother. But, she was so against it. She said the outside world was too dangerous for someone like me. We got into a fight until I decided to ask for something else. Yesterday, Mother left to go get my present and I was left wishing I could go see the stars. Then, Flynn climbed through my window."

She went on to explain the deal she made with Flynn. He was a thief who had stolen a crown from somewhere. He climbed through her window and she knocked him out with her frying pan. Once he awakened, she interrogated him before blackmailing him into taking her to see the lanterns. They came to that agreement and that's when they met Arun.

By the time she finished, they arrived at the very gate of the city. Arun was lost in his thoughts. So while Rapunzel ran inside like a kid in a candy store, he stood there, pondering. He didn't even notice Flynn and Maximus passing him.

Something weird was bothering him about Rapunzel's mother. He understood she wanted to protect her daughter from the dangers of the world this was a bit extreme. Rapunzel was now an adult to make her own decisions. Why didn't she ever allow her daughter outside to play around her tower when she was old enough?

Arun never met the woman, so he would never know her reasons until he saw her himself. He couldn't help but be worried about Rapunzel. She was a free spirit who didn't deserve to be locked away in a tower. Her heart was bright, yearning for the freedom she's been denied for years. That heart didn't deserve to have its light snuffed out in any possible way.

"Hey," said Max from behind, breaking Arun's thoughts. "Everything all right? You're just standing there."

"Hm? Uh, no, I’m fine. Just thinking."

"There's a shocker," Caelum said in a bored tone. He sounded as if he would rather be anywhere else but there. But, Arun could tell it was a front when he frowned at him. "Usually, when you're spacing out it's about something serious."

"Oh? How can you tell?" Arun asked. He didn't think Caelum noticed something like that.

He shrugged. "I was remembering last year on Arty's birthday. You had the weird dream and that night you disappeared. It was like a prediction of what happened to you.”

Arun was unsettled at the mention of that dream. He almost forgot about it. Now that he thought about it how was it possible he had such a strange dream before his world was taken by the Heartless? In the dream he fell into the darkness. Was that a premonition to what happened to him? Whatever it was it sent unpleasant shivers down his spine.

He laughed it off. "Nah, that was just a coincidence. Like that predicted what happened to me. Besides, I was thinking about Rapunzel."

"Really? Why? You got a crush on her?" Max teased.

For that comment Arun punched him on the arm. He scowled.

"Yeah, right. I'm not Rapunzel's one true love. Eugene is." He gestured a thumb at where Flynn was helping her gather up her hair before anyone stepped on it further. Flynn whistled to a few girls sitting by a fountain. They were braiding one another's hair. They gasped at her long hair, joy and excitement lighting their eyes before they rushed over to braid her hair. "I was thinking about what Rapunzel told me."

"What did she say?"

Arun quickly explained her situation. They sat on the fountain where the girls previously were, keeping Flynn and Rapunzel in their sights. He finished by telling them about his worries concerning Rapunzel's mother.

Max whistled. "Wow. And I thought my dad was overbearing at times. He's got nothing on Rapunzel's protective mother."

"I know. Something about that seems strange," Caelum agreed. He stared into the flowing water bubbling up from the spout of the fountain, pondering. "Parents are normally protective of their children. There's no doubt about that. What her mother did is more of an obsession."

"I don't understand. I wouldn't know what it's like to have parents, so can you explain this to me?" asked Arun, puzzled.

"You know how Arty's dad is really protective of her?"

"Yeah."

"Now, imagine that. Only ten times worse."

"I'm not following you."

“Imagine him not letting Arty be friends with either of us or anyone else for that matter because he thought we would do something evil to her. I mean, you might have, but with people like Aerith it's a different story. He didn't want Arty to have contact with anyone because he wanted to keep her safe in his sights."

Arun took a moment to think up the scenario. Arty's father was a nice man, who somewhat approved of her friendship to him. It took him awhile to warm up to Arun. Now, he imagined that nice man keeping Arty locked away in their home with no contact with the outside world. He imagined Arty all alone in her room with no one but her father for company. Only her father...His eye twitched.

"That's a little creepy," he admitted.

"Now you know how Rapunzel feels," Max said with a shudder. "Except she doesn't know what her mother is doing is wrong. I know it's a good idea to keep Rapunzel safe because her hair's special. But, that doesn't mean she should have kept her away without knowing the good of the world. Her mother only told Rapunzel about the bad without letting her see for herself."

"I know. Ruffians and thugs," Arun scoffed. "It's not like the majority of the world is like that."

"Unless they were like you, keeping an innocent facade to hide the evil underneath," Caelum said without a hint of remorse. "But, other than that you're right. The world is full of kind people as well as bad. It's up to Rapunzel to make that judgement, not her mother."

"If parents were like that all the time, then I would have never been friends with Arty."

"Really? Her dad didn't want her to be friends with you?" Max asked, curiously. His eyebrow raised at the new information.

"Yeah."

"Why?"

Arun opened his mouth to explain the reason why. However, he was unable to say a thing when Rapunzel came skipping towards them. Her long, long hair was now in a thick braid reaching her ankles. Flowers of various colors were weaved into the golden locks. She smiled at them.

"Come on, you three. Let's go explore the city! We have a lot of time before the lanterns so Eugene is going to show us around," she explained. She was so full of excitement she was nearly bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"Sure. Max, I'll tell you the story some other time, okay?" he promised.

Max nodded. "I'll hold you to it."

"Great. Come on, there's a lot I want to see!” Rapunzel exclaimed. She grabbed Flynn's hand from where he was standing nearby to haul him down the crowded cobbled streets of the city.

Once again, the trio couldn't help but snicker at the surprised but soft smile Flynn gave at Rapunzel's excitement. They, along with Maximus, trailed closely behind.

The rest of the day was filled with many activities. Rapunzel dragged Flynn across the city to do anything and everything from painting on the streets to going to a bookstore to browse through the old tomes. Arun, Caelum, and Max were never far behind as they, too, enjoyed the festivities offered from the festival. They ate, bought things, and even danced in the square where she started a dance party with a good amount of villagers.

Arun had to admit it was the happiest thing he's ever seen as he sat by the mural of the rulers and their child. He watched Flynn and Rapunzel danced merrily. Earlier, Rapunzel made Arun dance as well before he snuck off. He wasn't much of a dancer, anyway. But, he laughed when Max and Caelum were forced into the arms of the villagers and danced with them. All of it brought a smile to his face. 

If there was one thing he started to love about going on this journey, it was this. The small moments where they could celebrate and forget all the troubles of the world. For Arun, it was a time where he didn't have to worry about anything at all. He could forget he wasn't like everyone else and pretend he was normal. But that's all it was. Pretending.

It wasn't long before the dance ended. By the time it did, it was already sunset.

"To the boats!" a soldier shouted.

Everyone cheered and began to make their way towards the harbor.

"Oh, it's time!" Rapunzel tore herself away from where she ended up in Flynn's arms by the end of the song, yet held his hand. She was about to drag him into the town, but he held his ground.

"Hold on. I have somewhere special in mind where we can watch the lanterns," Flynn said. He took the lead this time towards the docks.

The rest followed behind the two. Arun, Caelum, and Max exchanged knowing looks at Flynn's flushing cheeks. When they made to to the docks where a few boats were tied Flynn helped Rapunzel into one. She seated herself opposite him and looked up at the three boys and the horse expectantly.

"Aren't you going to get in?" she asked.

"Oh, no. We'll fly our lanterns from here," Max said with a grin.

"Besides, wouldn't want to interrupt your 'alone time' with Eugene," Arun chirped. He waggled his eyebrows at Flynn. He stopped when he had to duck from an oar swung at him.

"Shut up." Flynn shook his head at Arun as he and Max laughed. Seating himself, he took the oar and started to paddle away towards the sea. He paused, glancing over his shoulder to Maximus. Grabbing a satchel, he threw it at Maximus' feet where apples tumbled out. Maximus glared at him. "What? I bought them...Most of them."

Maximus froze at the last mentioned piece, already eating the apples.

The three stared after the boat as it floated away. Just before they got out of hearing range, Arun decided to let out one last jab.

"Hey, Eugene. Make sure to use protection.”

"Shut up, Arun!" came the retort.

Arun laughed, but Caelum smacked him on the head.

"Don't be so immature," he scolded. "Act your age."

"I am acting my age. Most guys would make jokes about that. You're the one who's the prude."

“I’m the prude? What are you talking about?"

"You act like the word 'sex' is a curse word. You're the one who's supposed to be acting their age."

"Guys, really? You should stop fighting and enjoy the rest of the festival," Max sighed. He placed himself in between the two boys before they could continue their awkward conversation. To redirect their attention he held out two lanterns. When he got those, he didn't know. "C'mon, we should find a good spot to go launch these."

Arun examined the lantern in Max's hand. He took it gingerly. It looked nothing remarkable being a paper lantern with the emblem on the kingdom on it. It was a yearly occurrence, but to a young girl it was her life's dream. He smiled. He was happy to be apart of making her dream come true.

"You're right. Caelum," he addressed. "Just this once we should stop fighting and enjoy ourselves. It's a special day and we should take advantage of it before we go off fighting evil and each other. Okay?"

Caelum gave him a strange look as if wondering what alien had replaced Arun. He would admit he liked fighting people, but even he would eventually tire of it. With something as special as a festival happening he didn't want to spend it fighting when he could be having fun. That was the whole reason he even mentioned it. After a moment, Caelum nodded and took the other lantern.

"Sure. Just this once," he agreed.

Max, who was tense throughout their argument, relaxed.

"Let's go and light these babies up, shall we?"

For once Arun and Caelum smiled and nodded in agreement. It truly was a special day if the two stopped fighting long enough to enjoy themselves. Either that, or the apocalypse.

The three left Maximus to wait at the docks for Rapunzel and Flynn. They wandered back into the streets of the town where many of the townspeople were preparing their sky lanterns.

Multiple torches were lit around the streets to provide the flames that would send the lanterns into the sky. Max made sure to grab a lantern for himself. Children frolicked around excitedly while their parents prepared the lanterns and couples held one to launch into the sky together.

The launching of the lanterns could be interpreted in many ways. One as a romantic chance to launch a new flame into the sky or as a beacon of hope. Underneath all the reasons, the overall description of seeing the lanterns in the sky was one word: beautiful. Arun was excited to see the dream Rapunzel held onto all these years.

The three chose a spot where they could see the harbor in perfect view. They sat on a stone railing overlooking the boats, waiting until the signal to light them was given. Max was in between Arun and Caelum in case they decided to push one another. Arun had his lantern in his lap, fiddling with the edges of it as he thought more about Rapunzel's dream. 

He understood why she wanted to see the lanterns. It was her beacon of hope, he supposed. What he wondered about was why it was a beacon of hope. Why was it so important to her to see lanterns launch into the sky? For their beauty? For their symbolism? The reason for the lanterns in the sky wasn't even a happy one. It was to commemorate the disappearance of the lost princess of the kingdom. They heard the story during their time in the city. It was sad how the rulers' only child was taken after so many years of trying. The lanterns signified the hopes of the lost princess returning if she ever saw them, hoping it would lead her home. So, why did the lanterns appear so beautiful when the reason for the tradition was so sad?

Speaking of which, the concept of the lanterns lighting the princess' way home was familiar somehow. Arun didn't know why, but he felt like he went through the same thing. When, he wasn't sure. But, a niggling in his heart told him lights were a way home for everyone, including him.

He shook his head. No, that's impossible. He was just too empathetic to the lost princess and Rapunzel. There was no way a light would ever lead him home. It was his own will and desire which led him to his friends again where his home was. It was that, and nothing more.

Before long, everyone placed fire within their lanterns to allow them to fly. Now, they were just waiting for the signal. It came when a single lit lantern from the highest point of the kingdom, the castle, floated into the sky. Arun let his lantern fly free from his hands and he watched it float into the sea of floating lights.

There were no words to how beautiful the scene before him was. Hundreds of lanterns floated above and all around them into the darkened night sky towards the harbor. They were like individual stars coming down to the world to dance around them so close they could touch them. Each one held the hopes everyone held in their hearts, especially that of the king and queen: to find the princess and bring her home.

Arun couldn't begin to describe this feeling bubbling in his chest as he watched each of them light up the sky. They were the lights he wanted to follow someday. If this was Rapunzel's dream, he understood at that moment why they were so appealing to a girl stuck within a tower for most of her life.

The lanterns were the freedom they hoped for someday. To break free and float into the sky without anyone keeping them down. The light that could never be contained as the sky was their limit.

_I wish I was a lantern_ , Arun thought, offhandedly. He wouldn't mind floating forever with nothing to bring him to the ground. He could fly through the sky and no one would shout for him to come down. He would stay there for the rest of his life among the stars and clouds. He would be the light to lead someone home. He sighed as another thought occurred to him.  _But, first I have to have a light._

With the darkness inside him he doubted he would ever be free. He wasn't a lantern. He was the shadow of one, following behind its light to never catch up with it. The light would never be his to call his own.

That didn't mean he couldn't stop wishing for it.

* * *

xxx

* * *

 

Much later after the lanterns finally came down to land into the sea, the world was once again plunged into darkness. Many of the residents began to head home and clean up the traces of the festival. Arun, Caelum, and Max headed back down to the harbor where they left Maximus. When they reached where the horse was sitting obediently, waiting for Flynn and Rapunzel, they saw fog rolled into the bay above the water. The fog was as thick as soup for they could barely see in front of them.

"Hey, Maximus. They back yet?" Max asked the horse, who shared his nickname.

Maximus neighed and snorted, shaking his mane.

“You’d think they'd be back by now," Caelum mused. He squinted off into the fog. "Strange. Where are they?"

"You think Eugene's putting the moves on her?" Arun snickered. He wondered if Flynn actually did as he said. If he did, him and Arun were going to have to talk.

"Eugene's not you, idiot." He rolled his eyes.

"You never know. Look at him. He's that kind of suave guy who could take advantage of a young lady."

"And yet he can't get a girl except Rapunzel. I repeat, Eugene's not you, Mr. I-use-girls."

Max heaved a heavy sigh. "And now we're back to fighting. Well, the silence was nice while it lasted."

Maximus snorted as if agreeing with him. Caelum and Arun ignored them.

"Since when do I use girls?" Arun demanded, his eyes narrowed.

"Need I remind you using girl's confessions to get them to do stuff for you?" Caelum said. "You would accept their confessions, get them to do stuff for you, then throw them away like last week's trash. In fact you did treat them like trash.”

"That's because those girls threw themselves at me without any shame. I prefer girls who are hard to get and actually have some brains. It's not my fault those girls did whatever I asked like an obedient little dog. Er, no offense, Max," he said to him, realizing what species Max was.

He shrugged. "None taken. Though, Caelum's kind of right. I'm starting to see why he doesn't like you very much. You're a jerk."

Arun gasped dramatically. "Ouch, Max! I'm not a complete jerk. I'm a pretty nice guy."

“True. You've been nothing but nice since I met you even if you have your moments."

"That's how he manipulated those girls," Caelum told him with a scowl. "He would give them a pretty little smile. Then, they would run off to do whatever he wanted. It was disgusting to watch."

"Again, blame those girls. Not my fault they wanted to please me. I mean, who wouldn't? I was pretty sexy," Arun bragged, smirking triumphantly.

"And an ego to match. I'm not gonna be surprised if you use your new cuteness to manipulate girls again." He waved a hand to Arun's body.

He shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe it will work, maybe it won't."

Max rolled his eyes but suddenly tensed.

"What was that?"

"What was what?" Caelum asked.

"I hear yelling."

Their conversation ended the moment they began to hear noise from nearby. Everyone turned their heads to the side. It came from the beginning of the harbor where the stones met the wooden docks. They crept over to the watchtower nearby, hiding themselves behind it as they heard Flynn's voice.

"Rapunzel! Wait, you don't understand. Rapunzel!"

They peered around the watch tower to see Flynn being restrained by the kingdom guards. He was struggling against them as they bound his arms behind his back. Still, he tried, yelling off towards the bay for Rapunzel. He was frantic in his actions. Arun, too, began panicking when he noticed Rapunzel was nowhere to be seen. He followed Flynn's gaze off in the distance towards the forest across the bay.

"Guys," Max gulped. “Where’d she go?”

"I don't know. Do you think something happened to her?" Caelum wondered. Familiar concern, which was normally reserved for Arty crept into his voice, causing it to come out quietly.

"Eugene wouldn't be yelling for her if something did, now would he?" Arun snapped. His panicking increased steadily at the thought of Rapunzel being held prisoner. Then, it reached its peak as he thought of Flynn. "Shit! If the guards got Eugene, what's gonna happen to him?"

This question was meant for everyone. However, Maximus was the one to answer. He raised a hoof to drag across his throat. The boys gulped, rubbing their necks.

"Oh," Max gulped once more. "What do we do now? If that's gonna happen to him, then we gotta do something.”

"You're right," Caelum agreed. "Eugene's the only one who knows what might have happened to Rapunzel. Not to mention he doesn't deserve to die like that."

"But, what can we do? He's probably being taken to prison. How are we going to break in with a bunch of guards all over the place?"

Arun quietly brought his hand to his chin in thought. He stared at the cobblestones beneath his shoes. Max was right. No doubt the guards brought Flynn into their stronghold where they kept all their prisoners. If so, the place was crawling with guards. Between Arun, Caelum, and Max, they wouldn't be able to take them on their own. They'd get beaten into the dust in five seconds. If they had reinforcements, then they could rescue Flynn. But, where were they going to get able men willing to fight against the guards?

An idea hit him then and he smiled.

"Guys," he proclaimed to Caelum, Max, and Maximus. His smile turned into a shark-like grin. "I've got a plan."


	9. Rescues and Revivals

Early morning light hit the knight’s stronghold somewhat drearily. Despite the warm tan of the stones that served as the body and heart of the building, that did nothing to stop the numerous shivers running down Arun's spine. One look at the place, with its many watchtowers, barred windows, and countless guards, and he felt like fleeing into the darkest corners of the world.

Arun despised prisons. He hated them with an intense passion. They served as a place to lock up the most despicable human beings away from the 'innocent.' He was all for keeping worthless criminals out of sight. That's not what he hated about them. Prisons were convenient places for the most truly disgusting humans to put their enemies away, be they guilty or innocent. They could easily put people they hated there.

Like someone did with Flynn.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Max asked, uncertainly.

He peered down from where they were hiding in one of the fort's walls. Getting into the prison was ridiculously easy. Because of Maximus, they were able to sneak in through the least guarded entrance. They did run into a few guards but a simple whack to the head and a few key hiding spots took care of that.

"Of course it's going to work. It has to," Arun replied. By this point, he wasn't sure who he was reassuring.

This plan had to be the most hastily put together plan he's ever made. Arun was no strategist (that was Arty's domain), so he just came up with something on the spot. All he did was go to the Snuggly Duckling to get all the thugs together to help break Flynn out. At first, they said no because they weren’t fond of Flynn. But, as soon as Arun mentioned Rapunzel was in trouble and how Flynn was the only one who knew where she was they readily helped them. The thugs made the rest of the planning. Arun was good enough to just follow their orders. He didn't know what to do in this kind of situation.

Now all they had to do was wait.

Arun, Caelum and Max peered over the wall down to the courtyard in the center of the fort. They kept an eye out for the guards in case they got in the way. So far, all they saw were the patrols. Arun kept his eye peeled for any sign of the thugs, who were sure to have broken Flynn out from his imprisonment by now.

He got his sign when there was sudden yelling coming from the doorways on the ground level. He focused on the doorway to see Flynn and two other thugs, one of whom was the bald one who broke into song. There was also yelling from nearby. Yells rang through the fortress to anyone who could hear. To Arun's dismay there was a wave of guards running down the steps towards Flynn's group. His heart dropped at the sight of Heartless also around them.

"Oh, no!" Max yelped.

Arun whipped his head around to see Max's shield was raised against a small Heartless soldier. Heartless surrounded them on the fortress wall. Cursing up a storm, he summoned his Keyblade to join the fray, aiding Max on one side while Caelum got the other to protect Maximus. Maximus did his best to fight by kicking the little black creatures with his hind legs. But, Arun and Max had some difficulty fighting as there was little to no room to fight properly on the narrow wall.

"This is ridiculous!" Arun lashed out at the lantern Heartless. He threw his Keyblade like it was a boomerang as it destroyed three in a row before returning to his hand.Damn the Heartless! Why did they always come in groups? He sidestepped a slash from a Soldier type before using a _Blizzard_ spell to block a fireball. He narrowed his eyes. "That does it!"

Sudden energy built by his anger, annoyance, and worry for Rapunzel unleashed itself after he swiped through a Lantern. He tossed his Keyblade into the air before he caught it again in a reverse backhand grip. Light surrounded him and he attacked the group of Heartless around him with renewed speed, shredding past all of them. None of the Heartless stood a chance against him as he was too fast to hit. His momentum built until he focused all the energy and lashed out at them with four quick slashes, landing on his feet to allow the light energy beam out across the floor beneath him. It split into four different forward directions and dissipated the remaining Heartless that managed to survive his onslaught.

Arun panted heavily, taking a moment to catch his breath. He was a bit in shock from what he did. Where did that come from? He was sure he hadn't learned how to do that before. It was like he went into a frenzy in a feverish way, his Keyblade connecting to his enemies to emit loud pitches from where the steel sang against their bodies...He didn't know he was that fast.

"Whoa..." Max breathed from behind.

He glanced over his shoulder to see Max and Maximus stare at him dumbfounded. Caelum lowered his staff to give him a questioning/accusing look as if to ask, 'When did you learn that?' He shrugged. Hell if he knew. By their expressions, they weren't satisfied with that kind of answer. They were unable to ask as a scream emitted from below and made its way up.

Arun quickly spotted Flynn sailing through the air in an arc. He had his eyes screwed shut and his arms tucked in tightly. He managed to land on Maximus' saddle. Squinting his eyes open, he stared at Maximus, then Arun, Caelum, and Max in surprise.

"Guys...You brought them here?" he asked in a soft tone.

"Duh. You think we'd leave you to die?" Arun quipped, smirking.

Maximus neighed in agreement.

Flynn glanced at Caelum and Max's expressions, who both shared a smile.

"Thank you," he said, sincerely. It was touching with how much commitment the four had to him despite all that's happened. Arun would never admit it, but he grew found of the criminal. Sure, he was a bad guy and a terrible flirt, but if it wasn't for him, Rapunzel wouldn't have gotten to live her dream. Really, he was grateful to the man. If it weren't for his devious ways, Arun would have never gotten to meet her. They grinned. "No, really. Thank you. I feel like this whole time we've been misunderstanding one another and we're really just-"

"Flynn, as much as I'd like to hear how grateful you are to us, we gotta go," Arun interrupted, not sorry at all he ruined a touching moment. He clapped his hands. "C'mon, people! We gotta move. Rapunzel's in trouble!"

"R-Right!" Flynn snapped out of it. He took Maximus' reins in hand. "We don't have time for this. Let's go!"

Arun, Caelum, and Max scrambled on Maximus behind Flynn. Arun wasn't entirely sure if Maximus could support all four of them and wondered if they should just follow by foot. He had no time to wonder as the door swung open from behind them to show the guards. They carried crossbows with them.

Maximus began to gallop down the narrow walkway, swerving to dodge the arrows being shot from behind. Caelum, who was in the back, used a Barrier spell to block any of the arrows that were lucky enough to get near them. He retaliated with his own spells to slow them down. Maximus made his way to the corner of the walkway when they spotted the guards rushing towards them from the horizontal direction.

"Max...Max!" Flynn yelped as Maximus showed no sign of stopping even when the guards blocked their path.

He charged right past them, barely knocking over a few, and jumped off the wall.

The four riders screamed in utter terror. Arun gripped his hands tightly on the saddle and barely able to breathe because Max was hugging him for dear life. It didn't help at all he was screaming bloody murder in his ear. Maximus leapt through the air towards the roof of the nearest house, gracefully landing on it. Gravity took its toll and the heavy horse skidded down the shingled roof on the paved street below. Maximus lost no momentum from that drop and sailed through the air to land on his hooves, galloping down the street.

Arun clutched the saddle tightly, bouncing each time Maximus' feet hit the pavement. Various homes, people, and stalls blurred past them at the speed the horse was going at. Flynn challenged Maximus to go faster. He took that challenge. Maximus pushed himself faster and in no time at all they were racing out the entrance of the city and speeding through the bridge, headed towards the forest.

"E-Eugene, would you mind telling us what the heck happened last night?" Caelum asked. His teeth chattered from the bouncing and he had to take care not to bite his tongue off.

"Okay, here's what happened..."

Flynn quickly explained what happened after the lantern ceremony. He ended up spotting his partners, the Stabbington brothers, on the shores nearby. Realizing why they were there, he docked the boat so he could give the brothers the crown they stole two days before. Arun smacked him for neglecting to tell them he stole the crown of the Lost Princess and that's why the Royal Guards were after him. But, the brothers didn't want the crown anymore as they realized Rapunzel was worth a lot more with her magic hair. He also briefly explained her hair had magical healing properties. They knocked him out and tied him to a boat where the guards arrested him.

In prison he saw the Stabbington brothers again. He demanded to know where Rapunzel was. All they said was how her mother, a woman named Gothel, set them up and knocked out the two brothers before they, too, went to prison.

"So, Rapunzel's with her mother?" Max asked, ducking as a branch brushed past overhead. "Isn't that a good thing? She was going to go back to her mother after all of this, right?"

"No, remember what you guys told me about Rapunzel's mother? How she obsessed with having Rapunzel in her sights?" Arun mentioned. "If she set up those brothers, what if she planned for Eugene's arrest? What if she wanted Eugene to die? Rapunzel obviously likes Eugene and wanted to be with him."

"And if Rapunzel's mother realized that, she would want to get rid of Eugene because he was in her way,” Caelum said, adding his own theory to the mix. “She wants Rapunzel all to herself with no one to know of her existence.”

"That's why we have to save her.” Eugene whipped the reins. "C'mon, Maximus. We're almost there!"

Maximus neighed and sped faster.

Within the forest Maximus jumped over all the trees, bushes, and ledges with great speed. What would have taken the group two days to trek through the forest only took two hours on Maximus. By the time they reached a small opening in a cliff face, there was enough light to see their surroundings. Storm clouds gathered in front of the sun as if to hide from the violence about to occur. Maximus entered the opening. He skidded to a halt once they were in.

Arun gaped at the valley hidden by the cliffs as its natural defense. There was a small waterfall flowing down in front of them where they could see a tower that nearly touched the sky. Made with grey stones built-in a circular fashion, vines grew all along its base like they wanted to climb the tower themselves. Arun almost didn't think it was possible to climb such a tower. He couldn't see an entrance at the base either.

"That's a tall tower," Max gulped. He craned his head to look at the single window. "Do we have to climb up there?"

"Well, it's the only way up to Rapunzel," Flynn answered. He swung his legs off of Maximus. Once his feet touched the ground, he sprinted towards the tower. "Don't worry, Rapunzel!.We're coming!"

"Oh, so you're the man who wooed my Rapunzel?" said a cynical voice from above.

Flynn halted, lifting his eyes towards the tower. Arun got off of Maximus to crane his head as well. The voice came from the windowsill Max mentioned earlier. It was now open, though no light shone through. Standing on the aged ledge was a woman with curly black hair who wore a red dress. On her shoulders was a cloak. Her cold grey eyes were half-lidded to stare down at the group, yet her lips were in a humorless smile.

"Where's Rapunzel?" Flynn demanded.

"You needn't worry about her. She's safe with her mother again. I don't want the likes of  _you_ near my daughter again," the woman, Gothel, sneered down.

"Hey, what right do you have to decide Rapunzel's life?" Arun asked, angered. He had barely met the woman and he already knew he hated her. Meeting parents were never a great experience for him, but meeting this woman made him want to claw her eyes out. "I don't care if you're Rapunzel's mother or what. You have no right to control a free spirit like Rapunzel. You can't tell her what she can or can't do for the rest of her life!"

"And you have no right to put your nose into world affairs, Keyblade bearer." She laughed at Arun's stunned look and Caelum and Max's wide eyes. "What, you think I wouldn't know? After so many years, I can recognize the likes of you chosen by a cursed weapon."

"No, you're wrong. A Keyblade isn't a cursed weapon. Those who wield a Keyblade bring peace to worlds,” Caelum argued.

"Is that what you believe? Tell me, Keybearer," Gothel said to Arun, who didn't understand with the whole thing. "Do you know the duties of a Keybearer? They are not to meddle with the world affairs, as it was agreed upon many years ago. Yet, you stand here interfering with my daughter and this criminal like some hero." She let out a harsh bark of laughter. "Ha! Keybearers are no heroes. They bring ruin and chaos wherever they go. They tempt all that's dark to creep into the hearts of the people and decimate what little peace was in the world before they ever came. They do so in the name of 'light' when all they do is bring destruction!"

"You.…" Arun growled. His hands shook where he curled them into fists at his side. How dare this woman say such things? How dare she assume he was a bringer of destruction when all he wanted to do was help people? How dare she assume that before she actually knew him? People who do so would not last long when he got his hands on them. He despised people like that. His Keyblade flashed into existence and he gripped it with a tight fist. “Where’s Rapunzel? Tell me before I show you true destruction, you hag!"

Gothel didn't take the threat at face value, but was not pleased with the insult.

"I was going to show you Rapunzel before you four disappeared, but I don't take kindly to rude little boys," she said, condescendingly. "So, I think it's best that I get rid of you pests before my darling daughter sees this ghastly violence."

She snapped her fingers.

There was a sudden rumbling that followed the simple snap. The ground shook tremendously that oddly reminded Arun of hooves pounding against the ground just as Maximus did but a moment ago. The sound was coming from...behind them?

“What the—“ Flynn exclaimed. He was looking over his shoulder with wide eyes, skin suddenly pale. Arun whirled around to see what got his attention. His face went cold when he spotted the reason for his outburst.

A giant knight on a horse two feet taller than any of them charged. From what he could tell by then was how black armor covered the knight with pointed pauldrons on his shoulders. The helmet covered the knight's mouth in a gridded square plate, yet it was possible to see the rider's unnatural, round yellow eyes. Its stead had a purple coating with blackened hooves and a black mane. Its eyes slanted into the glowing eyes of a wild beast. What got his attention was the Heartless emblem on the knight's breastplate. That definitely wasn't a Knight-in-Shining armor, ready to rescue a princess.

Arun managed to noticed all of this, including the pointed lance aimed straight towards them.

"Get out of the way!"

Arun managed to grab roll to the side to get out of the Knight's path. Caelum and Max managed to dodge as well, and Maximus grabbed Flynn's collar to snatch him from danger. The Knight charged past them and did so for a few feet before his steed skidded to a halt. It turned around, going on its hind legs as it screeched in a way that definitely wasn't a noise a horse would make.

"I think this should be sufficient for you boys to play with," Gothel mocked from above. She stepped back inside of the tower, smirking. "Play nice now. Make sure to clean up after yourselves!"

She laughed once more, closing the windows behind her.

"Stupid ol' hag!" Arun hissed. He gritted his teeth, shooting the window a dark look. "What a coward, making someone fight her battles. It makes me sick!"

"Arun, you can complain later. Right now, we gotta handle that thing," Caelum advised. He held his staff, slipping into a defensive position. Gritting his teeth, he kept his eyes on the Knight.

"That's a really big Heartless," Max gulped. His shield was held at the ready, but his hands were shaking.

"Eugene," Arun called. "Go climb the tower and get Rapunzel out of there. We'll handle ol' tin head here."

"W-Wait, are you sure?" Flynn glanced between the tower and the giant Heartless nervously. "I mean, that thing's huge! There's no way you can beat that!"

"Do you have a better idea? Rapunzel's trapped in that tower with her psycho mother. It's either be her knight-in-shining armor and rescue her or get squashed to death by this guy.”

"Well...When you put it that way.…" If Arun was in his place, he would rather go rescue the damsel-in-distress than go fight the monster guarding the tower.

_Huh. This feels like it's straight from a fairy tale,_ Arun mused. He shook his head. No, wait. Think about this later. Right now, he had a battle to fight.

Eugene nodded. "Alright. I'll leave this to you.”

"I expect to see Rapunzel in one piece!" Arun yelled, watching Eugene sprint towards the tower. The Knight spotted Eugene making a break for it. His stead giving a terrible cry once more, he charged straight towards Flynn. Arun ran towards the Heartless and threw his weapon, aiming for the horse's legs. It sailed through the air and sliced into the haunches. Yet, it did no damage. What it did do was stop the horse's charge and he caught the Knight's attention. He caught his Keyblade as it made its way back and grinned. "Hey, metal head. Come pick on someone who's really worth your time.”

The Knight replied with another charge. It ignored Flynn, who was beginning to climb the tower with two daggers. This time, he came running at an arc. Max threw his shield like a frisbee at the Knight's head, but it did little help. All it did was dent the Heartless' armor. When the Knight came in range it swung its huge lance. It scrapped against the ground, creating a huge gash in the Earth to knock out Arun and Max. Fortunately for them, they managed to duck underneath the long metal weapon. Arun rolled back to his feet. He took care to stay near Max as he picked his shield up from where it landed.

"Okay, I'll bite. How are we going to beat this thing?" Max gulped. They had no real way to deal damage to it since it was moving too fast for them. How were they supposed to defeat it?

It didn't help the Knight kept coming straight towards them, swinging its weapon all over the place. Arun and Max could barely manage to get out of the way in time before their heads got bashed in.

"If it wants a fight, I'll give'em a fight!"

Arun and Max whipped their heads around in time to see a white blur come charging past. They stared with wide eyes when Caelum, who was riding Maximus, rush towards the Knight. He held his staff like it was a lance. The Knight, sensing Caelum was coming, galloped to meet with him. Arun felt as if he were reading an old fantasy novel where two knights were jousting. Caelum and Maximus looked determined, Caelum's staff rigid in his hand to aim for the Knight's chest. The Knight held his weapon in the same place. Arun couldn't help but panic. While the Knight was wearing armor, Caelum had little to no protection. He was going to get killed!

The two came into range of one another. Since the Knight's lance had a longer reach, Arun and Max were certain Caelum was going to get hurt. Instead of allowing that to happen, Caelum moved his torso enough to avoid the tip while jabbing at the Knight's chest with the end of his staff. And, as if to put salt in to the wounds, an electrical charge sparked from the end on contact.

The Knight got knocked off his stead with electricity sparking off of it. It hit the ground, slightly dazed Its stead proceeded to gallop past, unaware its rider was no longer on its back. Caelum turned Maximus around where he neighed in victory.

"What are you two gawking at? Get it while its down!" Caelum yelled at the surprised boys.

The two quickly snapped out of it. They rushed towards the fallen Knight with sword and shield swinging. In between the slashes and bashing, Arun threw in a few magical attacks to do as much damage as possible. Against the metal of their weapons, the Knight's armor began to dent under the onslaught of their attacks. They frantically kept attacking and hoped it would stay down.

Their prayers weren't answered.

The Knight finally managed to shake off its daze. It raised its lance into a sweeping motion. Arun and Max weren't able to dodge it in time, so it swept the two back with enough force to put them in a daze. Arun landed on his back, suddenly finding himself blinking up at the stormy grey sky. Beating hooves pounded against the ground nearby. It came closer and closer. Arun managed to crane his head to see the Knight mount his stead once more before coming at the two defenseless boys.

"Arun, Max! What the hell are you two doing? Get up!” Caelum and Maximus came charging past them once more to try to distract the Knight.

"Sorry, I need a minute. That last attack really hurt," Max said, groaning from next to Arun.

"It's not like we're the ones playing knights, either,” Arun said. He shook his head, trying to ignore the aches in his back and chest. Max did the same. The two picked up their weapons once more and got back into the fight.

While Caelum and Maximus were busy trying to distract the Knight and knock him off his stead, Arun and Max switched tactics. They were useless in a close-range fight, what with the horses and all. Their only possible option was to use magic. Max wasn't proficient in magic like Caelum or Arun (to a degree) was. All he could do was throw his shield at the Knight in a whirling frenzy to do at least something. Arun, however, was able to do magic. The only problem was he wasn't very good at it.

"Damn it!" Arun cursed. He stretched out his hand, imagining a burning fire erupting from the palm. Magical energy gathered where his palm was and burst out. However, all that came out was a small fireball that launched itself a few feet in front of him. He cursed at himself. Despite that crash course in magic, he was still no good at it. Sure, he could do some of the spells if the enemy was close enough to hit. But, long-range? He couldn't do it. He didn't feel like he was good at magic. It was ridiculous of him to think so when magic could be taught easily. Merlin proved that by teaching him the basics. There was a feeling deep inside him that said he had more powerful abilities that made up for his lack of magical ability at the moment.

He tried the _Fire_ spell again, but came with the same result.

_Work, damnit! Work!_

His friends were fighting a battle and trying their damn hardest. Caelum and Maximus were out there, risking their lives, to somehow defeat that stupid Heartless. Though he was unable to get in range, Max kept throwing his shield to help Caelum in his attempt. Even Flynn was trying by rescuing Rapunzel, who was the reason they were there fighting in the first place! Him? He was standing there like an idiot with no way to help.

Frustration ate at him. How could he possibly be this weak? Back in Meryton, he was always the stronger one to protect Arty and Caelum. Now, it seemed  _he_  was the one being protected while Caelum was the one fighting. He didn't like that feeling at all. Yet, what could he do? With his current ability level it seemed there was nothing he could do.

_No, you're wrong. Calm down, Arun,_ a voice soothed. It rang clear and true in his head, breaking through his frustration. Oddly enough, it sounded a bit like Arty. Talk about his voice of reason.  _Calm down. All you have to do is focus. Focus..._

Arun listened to the voice. He took several calm breaths and kept his eyes on the Knight. His attention was solely on the Heartless, who was beginning to wear down Caelum and Maximus. From what he could vaguely tell, Caelum was finally knocked off the horse. Where he landed, Arun couldn't see. Maximus galloped towards Arun and Max, snorting in distress. He held his Keyblade in front of him with both hands, taking multiple calm breaths. With each breath he took a bubbling energy surged through him. He continued to do so until the energy built in his chest and finally released itself around him.

In the air in front of him three clear crystals burst into existence. They arranged themselves in a trigram formation and swirled in a circle. Beams of dark energy shot from the crystals into the middle of the arrangement where they joined together into a large beam. Max had to duck before he was hit. The black beam shot straight at Knight. It fell off without ceremony as the beam continuously pounded against it, raw energy trying to penetrate the armor. It was powerful enough to topple the stead over as well. Arun couldn't focus the beam any longer and released the attack.

Now was his chance.

"Maximus!" Arun whistled for him.

Maximus understood the command. He came up to Arun, though he never stopped. Arun was fine with that. Once Maximus was near he grabbed the saddle with one hand while his foot was in the stirup. Maximus went charging back at the Knight while Arun hoisted himself up into a proper riding position. Taking the reins, he let out a battle cry.

The Knight and his stead regained themselves. Mounted once more, the Knight came hurdling at Arun and Maximus with his lance at the ready. It probably thought it was going to finish this fight. Arun shared the same thoughts, but they weren't in the Knight's favor.

The two charged at one another. Arun held his Keyblade like a dagger, gritting his teeth. He watched the Knight come closer and closer on his right until the Knight's lance went past Maximus' head. The second he saw the lance's tip swing, aimed for his heart, he used the Keyblade to parry the direction. With the long weapon's tip in the air and the Knight finally coming directly beside him he stabbed his blade into its unprotected side, twisting and wrenching it out without mercy.

Arun looked behind him to see the Knight's stead begin to slow down. From the wound Arun dealt to the Knight's side black mist swirled from it. The mist began to surround the Knight and the stead, their bodies disappearing. Soon, the Knight and its stead disappeared in a black mist and all that was left of the Knight was his armor and lance. The armor clattered to the ground with a heavy _clang_ in a heap. The moment it settled a glowing heart emerged from the pile, flying into the air before vanishing. The armor and lance soon joined it.

Maximus slowed into a trot, turning his head and breathed heavily through his nose. He blinked in confusion and glanced at Arun as if to ask, 'Where's the enemy?'

"Gone. Thanks to you. Good job, buddy," Arun praised. He petted him for a job well done. Without him, it wouldn't have been possible to take on that Heartless.

Maximus neighed in victory and shook his mane proudly.

"Hey, Arun!" Max yelled from a few yards away. Arun lifted his head to see Max was now by Caelum's side. Caelum was sitting up now, rubbing his wrist and wincing. Max waved a hand at Caelum. "You got any Ethers on you?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Caelum's hurt. He doesn't have any energy to do a Cure spell. He used it all up during the fight."

Arun sighed in exasperation. Geez, couldn't the guy go through one fight without getting hurt? Of course, he was sore and aching from where he was hit by that stupid lance. He was going to have a hard time getting out of bed the next morning. But, seriously. Caelum shouldn't be complaining about it. He squeezed Maximus' sides to get him to go to Caelum and Max. Maximus obeyed.

He trotted up to the two and came to a stop beside Caelum. Arun dismounted from him. When his feet touched grass Maximus whinnied and unceremoniously planted himself beside Arun's feet. His tongue lolled out, breath coming out in harsh pants.

"Guess he's exhausted," Max mused. He stroked Maximus' mane gently.

"Who wouldn't be? Anyone would die from exhaustion fighting that thing," Caelum panted. His eyelids were near closing like he was fighting to stay conscious. Speaking of which...

Arun dug his hand into one of the pouches to produce an Ether. He took the tiny glass bottle and handed it to Caelum. Caelum took it with his uninjured hand, used his thumb to uncork it, then downed the green liquid. When he swallowed he made a face.

"Ugh, I can never get used to the taste," he muttered.

"Really? I kinda like it," said Max, grinning.

"What's an Ether taste like?" Arun wondered. Caelum didn't often complain about how things tasted.

"It tastes like medicine. Too bitter." Caelum stuck his tongue out.

"No, it's not. I think it tastes like grapefruit," Max piped. He rubbed his stomach. "Now that I mention it I'm hungry."

A growl emitted near Arun. He looked down at his stomach. Max and Caelum gave him flat stares. He laughed sheepishly.

"Well, what'd you expect? We haven't eaten since the festival yesterday."

Max laughed while Caelum rolled his eyes. He held his free hand to his injured wrist, muttering a spell. Green light floated over him with an after image of leaves. The light faded, and he rolled his wrist.

"By the way, how'd you hurt your wrist?" Arun wondered.

"Twisted it when I was jousting with the Heartless." Caelum stood his feet, stretching his arms. "I've never fought a Heartless like that before. Sora, Donald, and Goofy usually handle it while the rest of us stayed back. I didn't realize how hard it was."

"Please tell me it's not going to be like this in all the worlds," Max groaned, tiredly. He flopped onto his back.

"Unfortunately, yes."

"Aw, man. How does Dad do this? It's so much work!"

"Spoken like a true teenager," Arun chuckled. Caelum joined him so they both laughed at Max's misery. His reaction was to glare up at them.

Their amusement cut short when there was a sudden scream from above. All of them turned their head upwards where it came from the tower. Out of the window someone wearing a cloak came tumbling out. Arun's mouth dropped open, unable to say or do anything as the person fell through the air. He expected to hear a loud thud, but no sound came. Just before hitting the ground dust gathered inside the cloak and the fabric fluttered down.

Arun shared a bewildered glance with Caelum and Max. What the heck just happened? Arun gulped. He had a feeling something terrible occurred. Caelum and Max shared his sentiments.

With new energy the three raced towards the tower. They scrambled to find a way up, but found no such thing. This tower was worse than the fortress. At least that one had doors and windows to enter. They circled the tower in a frenzy to find someway up.

Arun searched among the vines until he saw a tiny hole. Ripping the greenery away, he found a large opening.

"Guys, over here!"

He ducked inside the opening. Behind him, he heard Caelum and Max follow him. The opening led into a dark, cramped stairway where Arun had to pause for his eyes to adjust. Once he was able to see the stairs, he climbed the spiraling staircase. The path was almost dizzying and gave him quite the headache. It took a few minutes to climb (it was a really tall tower). It seemed never-ending. Soon enough, he managed to see a small crack of light above and the air becoming thinner.

The staircase ended to lead to a landing where a ladder was. Right above the ladder was the crack of light. Arun scrambled up it to the top. Reaching a hand up, he pushed at the light. It was heavy, smooth, and cold, so it was a stone blocking his way. Moving the stone took effort, but he did it. He shoved it to the side and poked his head up into the new room.

What he saw broke his heart.

The new room was dark with only the window as its light source. It was a nicely furnished room painted with several murals and portraits, yet the atmosphere was desolate like it was recently abandoned. What made him choke in horror was Rapunzel and Flynn.

The two huddled near the wall by the support beams. Rapunzel had Flynn in her lap, her head leaning down to touch his while her hand gripped his to her short brown hair. Arun wouldn't have recognized her at all because of her new hair. Soft heart wrenching sobs crawled up her throat. Flynn was unmoving.

He crawled into the room, standing to his feet to take everything in. Now that he noticed her hair he could see the long brown strands curled around the room lifelessly. Just like Flynn.

Caelum and Max climbed into the room. They, too, froze at what awaited them. Max stared at Flynn's lifeless form with sad eyes.

"Oh, no. Eugene.…"

"How did this happen?" Caelum hissed. He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Damn it. This shouldn't have happened."

"Rapunzel," said Arun with difficulty. He was fond of Flynn and for this to happen...He slowly approached Rapunzel. Standing at her side, he laid a hand on her shoulder. She turned her head at the touch, gazing up at him with tear filled green eyes. "There's nothing you can do? Doesn't your hair have healing powers?"

She shook her head mournfully.

"It only works if my hair is never cut. It loses its power when it does," she sobbed. "That's why I told you Mother...It's why I was never allowed to cut it. I've lost that power and now Eugene..."

Arun swallowed the lump in his throat. He covered his eyes with a hand, taking a deep breath. This wasn't supposed to happen. Everything was supposed to turn out for the better. They defeated the Heartless and Gothel was gone. Why did this have to happen to Flynn?

The room fell into silence. Everyone was silently mourning their comrade. Arun was trying to calm down (he felt so GUILTY telling Flynn to rescue Rapunzel. Maybe he would still be there if he hadn't ordered him to go here), telling himself this sort of thing happened all the time. A part of him couldn't accept this. It was just too hard. Is this what Arty and Caelum went through when they thought he was dead?

Arun would have been happy never knowing this sort of feeling. It hurt too much.

The silence ended when Rapunzel's soft voice began to sing.

" _Heal what has been hurt. Change the fate's design. Save what has been lost. Bring back what once was mine. What once was mine_ ," she sang mournfully. Her cheerful voice, which brought happiness to all who could hear, was hopelessly full of despair. It cracked at the last lyric, and she dissolved into tears once more. She pressed her forehead against Flynn's, weeping.

Arun shook his head. This was too much to bear. Why couldn't anything turn out right? Why did this have to happen? Flynn couldn't die. He just couldn't! He trembled, suddenly filled with the urge to punch something. Along with the sorrow of losing someone he knew came an unspeakable anger. It was like he hated himself for allowing sorrow to penetrate his soul when he could do something about it. He hated being in pain like this. Physical injuries he could always heal, but emotional ones...How could he possibly heal something like that? So, as a way to deal with the pain he just got angry. Angry at Gothel, angry at Rapunzel...Angry at himself...

He wanted to destroy something just to make it all stop.

Taking a shaking breath, Arun opened his eyes to go leave the tower before he did something he regretted. But, a shining light gave him pause. The light bloomed from Flynn's wound on his torso, rising up and circling around Rapunzel and Flynn. Warmth gathered all around them and filled the cold room as if they were standing in the middle of a field under the sun. Immediately, the anger within Arun calmed. The light was so warm. So...comforting and familiar. Where has he felt such a thing before? The light receded back into the wound, fading into nonexistence.

Soon, everyone heard a small moan.

"Rapunzel?" Flynn called.

"Eugene?" Rapunzel gasped.

He opened his eyes to blearily admire Rapunzel.

"Have I ever told you I got a thing for brunettes?"

All tension in the room collapsed. Max started laughing hysterically in relief. He laughed so hard tears were in his eyes. Arun and Caelum couldn't help but snicker at the comment as well. Flynn just came back from the dead and that was the first thing he said? They broke into laughter when Rapunzel, who was hugging Flynn tightly, suddenly kissed him. The kiss surprised Flynn, though he returned it eagerly. However, it was brief because of the laughter coming from the three. The two pulled apart to laugh along with them.

They laughed away for a while to let everything sink in. So much happened in such a short time. Before long, they forced themselves to calm down. However, the surprises didn't end there.

Everyone was astonished when the floor below them to glow with a mystical light. To Arun's surprise his Keyblade suddenly flashed into his hand, its tip glowing with the same light. The light swirled all around them as it floated into the air and into a single shape: a keyhole. Arun glanced between the keyhole and his Keyblade. Acting upon a gut instinct, he pointed the tip of his Keyblade towards the keyhole. Once it leveled, another brilliant beam of light shot from the tip and straight into the keyhole where they all heard a distinct click. Then, the light faded and they were left inside the Tower once more.

"What in the world was that?" Rapunzel asked, tilting her head at the floor where the light had vanished.

"So, that's how this works," Arun muttered to himself. He studied his Keyblade with a new-found appreciation. If that was how he had to seal the keyhole of a world, he was going to enjoy finding each and every one of them in the new worlds. He willed his Keyblade to vanish and faced Rapunzel. "Rapunzel, it was nice meeting you and all, but we've gotta go."

"What, already?" Eugene asked.

"No. We've got important business to take care of."

"Are you sure it can't wait?" Rapunzel asked with pleading eyes.

"Yeah, sorry. But, we've things to do, places to see, people to find. You know how it is."

"Oh." She nodded. "That's right. You're looking for the boy with black hair. He must be important to you."

"Yeah. He kinda is." He was his body, after all. He needed that thing to return to normal.

"Then, I suppose this is goodbye," Rapunzel said sadly.

"No, it's not," Caelum gently told her. "We promise to come by when we're in the area. This may be goodbye, but that doesn't mean we may never see each other again."

"Really?"

"Yeah! Maybe next time we see you, it might be for your wedding," Max teased.

The three boys laughed when both Eugene and Rapunzel's cheeks reddened.

"H-Hey, will you guys come off it? We just got together," Eugene coughed, uncomfortably.

"You're not denying it," Arun singsonged.

"We'll, maybe one day," Rapunzel giggled. "We'll send you an invitation when we do."

"Rapunzel!"

"Okay, then. It's a promise.”

"And, of course everyone ignores me," Flynn groaned, dismayed. "Just once I'd like to get some attention. I just died, after all."

They laughed once more, although it was not at him. Everything turned out all right in the end. Everyone was relieved.

Once everything was said and done, the group exited the tower through the way Arun, Caelum and Max came in. Maximus was waiting outside. He ran to Rapunzel, nuzzling both her and Flynn, to everyone's surprise. The two mounted Maximus and bid them goodbye as they were going to return to the Kingdom to find Rapunzel's real parents. They waved goodbye even as they disappeared through the hole.

"Ya gotta love a happy ending," Max sighed, content.

"I didn't think you were into such girly things, Max," Arun teased, grinning.

"After all that's happened? I don't care if it is girly. I'm happy for those two."

"I agree with Max. I'd rather take the girly happy ending than one where Eugene dies," Caelum agreed.

They shuddered. Losing a comrade was not a fun feeling and not one they were looking forward to. Despite their banters and arguments, each of them viewed one another as a friend and comrade. If they lost one another...Well, they didn't want to think about it.

"Speaking of which, Rapunzel's amazing," Arun said. He tried to lead the conversation into a happier one. He put his hands behind his head, staring at the sky in thought. "Can you believe even after her hair's been cut she still had the magical healing powers? Eugene died and through her tears she revived him. How cool is that?"

"Yes, it's truly remarkable."

"Yeah, totally! That would be so useful--" Arun halted his words and blinked. Wait a second...That deep voice didn't belong to any of them. Turning his head to the side, he saw Caelum and Max giving him wide-eyed expressions. They slowly turned around to where the voice sounded. Arun nearly choked at who he saw.

Standing near the tower entrance by the small stream was a person in a black cloak. From the deep voice, it was a man-most likely in his twenties or so.

"Organization XIII!" Caelum grabbed his staff and ice crystals hovered around his free hand. "What are you doing here?"

"He's from that group of Nobodies?" Max asked in disbelief. He threw Arun a look. "Wait, they're the ones who tried to kidnap Arun before I met him.”

"My associates have told me of their intentions to capture a boy," said the man in a slow condescending yet emotionless tone. Arun never thought he could meet anyone with such a bland combination before. Yet, it also managed to piss him off. "But, I never expected it to be the likes of you, Roxas."

"Excuse me? I don't even know you guys." Ugh, this again. Why was it every time he met one of them they mistaken him for someone else? It was enough to give him a headache. "Look, whoever you are, my name isn't that, uh, Roxas guy. It's Arun. If we happen to look like each other, then that's just a coincidence."

"Hm...You speak the truth, yet you resemble him in more ways than one." He tilted his head. "Tell me. Do you know who you truly are?"

"I know who I am. Unlike you bunch of Nobodies, who're half a person.”

"How ironic of you to accuse such a thing. That girl's abilities were interesting, were they not?" the man suddenly asked. "To have the power to reverse time and bring back what was lost. It is unfortunate that power was lost. Such a waste."

"Wh-What are you talking about?" Max questioned.

"It matters not. I came to observe the usage of her powers to see if they would be useful to us, but now it is irrelevant."

The three jumped when a darkened portal-the very one Arun entered in that white castle- beside him. He turned his head to Arun.

"Your time runs short, boy. Two halves must become whole eventually," he advised him in an eerie and foreboding voice. Like he knew what Arun's fate was.

"What? Hey, what do you mean by that?" he demanded.

The man never replied. He ignored Arun and entered the portal. None of them had a chance to move because the portal closed behind right behind him.

"What...was that?" Max asked, slowly. He scratched his head. "Are they all cryptic and give fortune-cookie advise like that?"

"From the few I've met? Yeah," Arun said.

"What did he mean? 'Two halves must become whole.…'" Caelum muttered. He studied the ground contemplatively.

"Who knows? When they lost their hearts I think all of them lost a bit of their sanity with'em."

"Hm...Maybe." Yet, in the ears of Arun and Max they could tell he was unconvinced with such an answer. He shook his head. "Well, we've accomplished our task in this world. Can we get back to searching for Sora? We've lost too much time here as it is."

Arun raised his hands in defense.

"Hey, you can't say you didn't have fun here. But, yeah, I think we should get outta here now. I'm tired."

"Same here," Max agreed.

"Then, let's get back to the Gummi ship."

"Okay."

Nodding, Caelum took out the remote control to beam back to the ship. While Arun went through his pouches for his remote control, he couldn't help but think about the Nobody's advice.

_Two halves must become whole eventually..._

He had a feeling he wasn't talking about returning to his original body. Deep in his chest, his heart quivered like it knew what that meant and it scared him. It scared him to the point he couldn't breathe. Just what did that mean?

Arun wasn't sure he wanted to know. For all he knew it might lead to something he didn't want to happen.


End file.
